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jensensitive · 1 year

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The Homoerotic Subtext of Dean and Cas in Early Season Four (pt. 1)

4x01 Lazarus Rising

Note: I don't agree with Eric Kripke about a lot of things. That man is my nemesis. But I do see and appreciate hella gay subtext (key word subtext. I don’t how much of it was intentional and I don’t think he had any plans to go anywhere with it. I also don’t think there’s anything intrinsically wrong with that but will leave it up to everyone else to have their own feelings ♥)

[Warnings for references to rape that are made within the episode and Dean's racist porn and the theme of compromised bodily autonomy]

Cas is an angel who saved Dean from Hell, which, to quote Dean, “Is Fabio on that paperback?” The build up and expectation that Cas is going to be monstrous and bad only for the dramatic rug-pull that he’s an angel who sees Dean for who he is and thinks he deserved to be saved, who tells him good things do happen, is very epically romantic in its structure.

We also have to remember that Cas is not framed strictly as a good guy at first. He's on par with Ruby, and in the same way, it’s ambiguous as to whether he’s good or bad, right or wrong; we’re meant to be suspicious of him in a similar way to how we are Ruby. and Dean and Cas and Sam and Ruby are very much cast in parallel right from the beginning, as I’ll point out.

Our Season opener song being "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC– we hear this directly before Dean wakes up in his coffin fighting for air, crawls out of his grave and sees he’s at ground zero of what looks like an explosion or natural disaster of some kind. I think the song can apply to both Dean and Cas and Sam and Ruby.

Taking more than her share, had me fighting for air She told me to come, but I was already there 'Cause the walls start shaking, the Earth was quaking My mind was aching and we were making it And you shook me all night long Yeah, you shook me

(RUBY: Sam, human souls don't just walk out of Hell and back into their bodies easy. The sky bleeds, the ground quakes. It's cosmic.)

[images:]

Dean breathing heavily on his back on the ground in the grass

Dean in his t shirt walking towards the gas station that says "Lubrication"

Dean with his mouth open and breathing heavily in the gas station

Dean lifting his shirt in front of the mirror

Dean seeing the handprint in the mirror

A handprint branding into his skin. Dean had Cas’s handprint branded onto him.

Shir Hashirim / Song of Songs 8:6-- Place me like a seal on your heart, like a seal on your arm, for love is as strong as death, zeal is as strong as the grave; its coals are coals of fire of a great flame [Tanakh]

Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame. [NRSV]

Anna puts her hand on the brand when she and Dean have sex in 4x10.

[images:]

Dean's oral fixation, he has a candy bar in his mouth

Dean's porn, with the word "Love Potion"

straps that say "Strap-on" behind Dean at the register

"In the Shadow of the Valley" by Lost Weekend Western Swing Band playing on the radio when Cas tries to talk to Dean in the gas station.

A service station/gas station/filling station/pumping station whatever you wanna call it being where Dean and Cas first “meet,” and Cas first tries to talk to him. Gas stations were popular for gay cruising spots, and because of this, there are gay bars and clubs named things like “The Pumping Station.” This was especially true in 2008 before hookup apps.

Cas rebuilt Dean’s entire body-- BOBBY: Dean. Your chest was ribbons, your insides were slop. And you've been buried four months. Even if you could slip out of hell and back into your meat suit-- DEAN: I know, I should look like a Thriller video reject.

[image: Dean showing Bobby the handprint]

DEAN: And then this. (He strips his jacket, pulls up his sleeve to reveal the brand.) BOBBY: (standing) What in the hell? DEAN: Yeah, it’s like a demon just yanked me out. Or rode me out.

(gay joke illustrating Kripke’s frame of mind

Secret Ruby when Dean and Sam hug: So are you two like... together?

the rape references also really start to escalate in season four after Dean comes back

DEAN: (advancing) So what now, I'm off the hook and you're on, is that it? You're some demon's bitch-boy? I didn't want to be saved like this.)

Establishing his lack of faith in good forces so that it can be dramatically challenged by Cas in the fourth act. DEAN: (grabs SAM by the front of his shirt) There's no other way that this could have gone down. Now tell the truth!

SAM: She’s gonna eat you alive. DEAN: I just got outta jail. Bring it. (DEAN in act four: What do you say we ring the dinner bell?)

Pamela flirts with Dean and gropes him and then has her eyes burned out by Cas.

Pamela is a psychic saying Cas touched Dean somewhere intimate-- PAMELA: And I need to touch something our mystery monster touched. Dean jumps. DEAN: Whoa. Well, he didn't touch me there. PAMELA: My mistake.

Dean sarcastically suggesting he was brought back to life because he’s hot or the creature has some sort of infatuation with him-- DEMON WAITRESS: So you get to just stroll out of the pit, huh? Tell me. What makes you so special? DEAN: I like to think it's because of my perky nipples. (Cas: Certain people, special people, can perceive my true visage. I thought you would be one of them.)

(Another rape reference from Dean DEAN: So go ahead. Send me back. But don't come crawling to me when they show up on your front doorstep with some Vaseline and a fire hose.)

[images: Dean sleeping]

Cas coming to talk to him again while he's laying in a vulnerable position. He’s alone again and asleep in a bed with mirrors on the ceiling. I believe the motel room is the honeymoon suite.

BOBBY: How you doin', kid? DEAN: Aside from the church bells ringing in my head, peachy.

This is clever foreshadowing, but also church bells bring to mind weddings.

Dean starting his relationship with Cas by lying to Sam about trying to summon him, in parallel to Sam lying about Ruby-- DEAN: Bobby, whatever this is, whatever it wants, it's after me. That much we know, right? I've got no place to hide. I can either get caught with my pants down again, or we can make our stand.

The reveal that the woman Sam was sleeping with is Ruby and reveal of Sam lying to Dean about not using his powers is directly before the Cas reveal, with the two brothers cast in contrast, one with a demon and one with an angel. Would only be more obvious if Dean summoned Cas alone, but even so, Cas puts Bobby to sleep so they can talk alone.

[image: Cas with sparks raining down on him]

Sparks flying when they first meet.

DEAN: Who are you? CASTIEL: I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition. DEAN: Yeah. Thanks for that.

Dean penetrates Cas with his knife.

CASTIEL: We need to talk, Dean. Alone.

CASTIEL: I'm an Angel of the Lord. DEAN: Get the hell out of here. There's no such thing. CASTIEL: This is your problem, Dean. You have no faith.

He knows him already. Dean’s relationship with faith has been previously established as related to his mother and her belief in angels and his losing her as a child, his greatest trauma.

(2x13 DEAN: I'll tell you who else had faith like that — Mom. She used to tell me when she tucked me in that angels were watching over us. In fact, that was the last thing she ever said to me.

DEAN: What's to tell? She was wrong. There was nothing protecting her. There's no higher power, there's no God. I mean, there's just chaos, and violence, and random unpredictable evil that comes out of nowhere, and rips you to shreds. You want me to believe in this stuff? I'm going to need to see some hard proof. You got any?)

We also later learn how Dean idealizes angels in 4x10 (also written by Kripke)-- (DEAN: You guys are powerful and perfect. You don't doubt yourselves or God or anything.)

CASTIEL: I warned her not to spy on my true form. It can be... overwhelming to humans, and so can my real voice. But you already knew that. DEAN: You mean the gas station and the motel? That was you talking? Buddy, next time, lower the volume.

Again drawing another parallel between him and Ruby, thinking Dean is “special” and has important abilities.

CASTIEL: That was my mistake. Certain people, special people, can perceive my true visage. I thought you would be one of them. I was wrong.

Calling attention to his appearance, commenting on his clothes, drawing another parallel between him and Ruby in that they’re both possessing someone, while attempting to lessen the moral issue of it--

DEAN: And what "visage" are you in now, huh? What, holy tax accountant? CASTIEL: This? This is... a vessel. DEAN: You're possessing some poor bastard? CASTIEL: He's a devout man, he actually prayed for this.

[deleted lines: DEAN: Uh-huh. Y'know, it might've been easier to show up like this the first time instead of all the burning bush crap. CASTIEL: Finding a human vessel durable enough to contain me... it's not easy. DEAN: I have that same problem with women.]

DEAN: Well, I'm not buying what you're selling, so who are you really? CASTIEL: I told you. DEAN: Right. And why would an angel rescue me from Hell? CASTIEL: Good things do happen, Dean. DEAN: Not in my experience. CASTIEL: What's the matter? You don't think you deserve to be saved?

Cas seeing right through him, seeing dean for who he is, knowing him immediately.

4x10 (also written by Kripke)-- (ANNA: Maybe I don't deserve to be saved. DEAN: Don't talk like that. ANNA: I disobeyed. Lucifer disobeyed. It's our murder one, and I knew it. Maybe I got to pay. DEAN: Yeah, well, we've all done things we got to pay for. ANNA: I got to tell you something. You're not gonna like it. DEAN: Okay. what? ANNA: About a week ago, I heard the angels talking... About you... What you did in Hell. Dean, I know. It wasn't your fault. You should forgive yourself.)

"I don't deserve to be saved," Dean arguing that maybe he doesn't either and Anna saying he does deserve forgiveness, this echoes "you don't think you deserve to be saved" (and later "I'm not here to judge you, Dean" in 4x07)

The parallel between Cas saying they have work for Dean, and Ruby and Sam working together–

(SAM: I don't know if what I'm doing is right. Hell, I don't even know if I trust you. But what I do know is that I'm saving people. And stopping demons. And that feels good. I want to keep going.)

DEAN: Why'd you do it? CASTIEL: Because God commanded it. Because we have work for you.

Kripke on who Dean would be attracted to– "In hindsight, Dean wouldn't be attracted to [Jo]... He'd be attracted to someone who walked in the door, slaughtered everybody and walked out and then he would say, 'Who's that?'" - Kripke; Supernatural Companion Season 2, pg 15 (published April 2008)

Misha imagined Cas looking into Dean's soul (asylum 8 2012)

Misha: Kripke wanted to base the look of the character on the comic book character ‘Constantine’ I don’t know if I’m ever going to change clothes.” (Hollywood Insider, 2008)

Wikipedia: Constantine is bisexual, which was first established in a 1992 comic that referred offhandedly to his having male and female exes. Early stories exclusively showed him dating women, although Ashes & Dust in the City of Angels showed him as having relationships with men, as well.

Kripke using a similar scene for Hughie and Annie in The Boys with sparks raining down from lights and it being intended to be epic and romantic. (The Boys 1x08)

#spn 4x01 #destiel #spn thoughts #meta #s4dc #gay subtext #long post #sometimes you just gotta actually post things from a google doc you started five years ago yknow #there's more but this is about half of it I think #i'll post the rest at some point

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ourpickwickclub · 4 months

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Tom seems like the ringleader of most of the band’s problems over the last decade. I think Tony and Adrian have both been open to more compromise than he was.

Is it Tom or is it Tony whispering in Tom’s ear because he knows Tom (and Eric Keyes) will vocalize his thoughts and he can remain hands clean. I have genuinely always wondered. I remember Tom posting years ago that he had spent the evening talking to Tony at the Owl Bar in Sundance. I remember because it’s my favorite bar in the world so it jumped out at me. He said Tony always had a way of making things clear to him, or something similar to that. After that was Tom starting big time with the snark and simmering anger in posts and comments.

I mean, I truly believe all bands would have this type of stuff going on and it’s to Gwen and NDs credit that they have never just gone after each other like so many other bands. Even just old friendships can hit bumps. I hold out hope that they can all start fresh. But I do understand people who don’t want this or are apprehensive. I love the band together so I’m hopeful.

- B

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honeyleesblog · 11 months

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Providing In-Depth Horoscope and Personality Analysis for May 11 Birthdays

They are unique individuals who might in fact show specific abilities. They want to be extremely ready, in spite of the fact that their way of behaving is quiet. Serious, insightful: they are likewise exceptionally relentless and complex, with an incredible will. They consider and notice everything cautiously, lastly do their arrangements. They are steady. Their disposition is by and large very amicable, in spite of the fact that they endeavor to isolate themselves from others. They are described by sound judgment. Your psyche shows logical propensities. Their smart thoughts and their capacity to talk expressively make them stick out. They are continuing on, enriched with an incredible crucial power, albeit here and there fairly sluggish. Notwithstanding their materialistic inclinations, they can cherish with all out commitment and penance. How to bring up a youngster brought into the world on this day? They need mindful consideration, and they should be instructed to avoid determination. The best calling for these individuals is one that includes careful exploration and scientific work. They can be magnificent scientific experts. What compromises them: They are undermined by industrious individuals who will furtively attempt to hurt them. They can find success in quest for life and completing ventures. Providing In-Depth Horoscope and Personality Analysis for May 11 Birthdays

Assuming your birthday is on May 11, your zodiac sign is Taurus May 11 - character and character character: valiant, faithful, energetic, receptive sma, twofold sided, disdainfu l; calling: space explorer, fireman, fashioner; colors: yellow, gold, daffodil; stone: red emerald; creature: reindeer; plant: milkweed plant; fortunate numbers: 6,9,15,20,40,54 very fortunate number: 32 Occasions and observances - May 11 Spain: Lდ©rida: More noteworthy celebration, supporter of the city. Spain: Badalona: Evening of San Anastasio, benefactor holy person of the city, with the Consuming of the Evil spirit. Guatemala: Day of common help in Guatemala. Argentina: Day of the Argentine Public Song of devotion. Bulgaria: Day of Holy people Cyril and Methodius, makers of the Cyrillic letters in order. Chile: Understudy's Day. Chile: Public Theater Day, recollecting the introduction of Andrდ©s Pდ©rez Araya. May 11 Big name Birthday. Who was conceived that very day as you? 1901: Rose Auslდ¤nder, German writer (d. 1988). 1902: Kiril Moskalenko, Soviet military man (d. 1985). 1904: Salvador Dalდ, Spanish painter (d. 1989). 1907: Bernardo Estornდ©s Lasa, essayist and advertiser of Basque culture (f. 1999). 1911: Phil Silvers, American entertainer (d. 1985). 1912: Edmundo Pდ©rez Zujovic, Chilean legislator (d. 1971). 1912: Encourage Creeks, American entertainer and comic (d. 2001). 1913: Robert Jungk, Austrian marketing specialist (d. 1994). 1914: Haroun Tazieff, French volcanologist (d. 1998). 1916: Camilo Josდ© Cela, Spanish author, Sovereign of Asturias Prize for Writing in 1987, Nobel Prize for Writing in 1989 and Cervantes Prize in 1995. 1918: Richard Feynman, American physicist, Nobel Prize in Physical science in 1965. 1924: Antony Hewish, English radio space expert, Nobel Prize in Material science in 1974. 1927: Bernard Fox, English entertainer (d. 2016). 1927: Quality Savoy, American traveler and author (d. 2007). 1928: Marco Ferreri, Italian movie producer (d. 1997). 1928: Yaacov Agam, Israeli craftsman. 1930: Edsger Dijkstra, Dutch PC researcher. 1932: Valentino Garavani, Italian creator. 1932: Francisco Umbral, Spanish author. 1935: Doug McClure, American entertainer (d. 1995). 1936: Carla Bley, American performer. 1939: Carlos Lyra, Brazilian performer. 1940: Juan Downey, Chilean video craftsman. 1941: Eric Burdon, English performer, of the band The Creatures. 1943: Nancy Greene, Canadian skier. 1946: Robert Jarvik, American physicist and innovator. 1947: Butch Trucks, American performer, of the Allman Siblings Band. 1951: Andrდ©s Pდ©rez Araya, Chilean theater chief and entertainer. 1951: Ricardo Rubio, Argentine essayist, writer and dramatist. 1952: Shohreh Aghdashloo, Iranian entertainer. 1952: Jorge «Lobito» Martდnez, Paraguayan artist and writer (f. 2003). 1952: Frances Fisher, English entertainer. 1952: Renaud, French writer. 1952: Renaud Sდ©chan, French artist. 1952: Beatriz Spelzini, Argentine entertainer. 1955: Marდa Sortდ©, Mexican entertainer 1958: Phil Smyth, Australian ball player. 1960: Kike Santander, Colombian specialist and writer. 1963: Natasha Richardson, English entertainer (d. 2009). 1963: Masatoshi Hamada, Japanese joke artist. 1964: Marcela Osorio, Chilean entertainer 1964: Tim Blake Nelson, American entertainer. 1965: Monsour del Rosario, Filipino entertainer and taekwondo player. 1966: Christoph Schneider, German drummer, of the band Rammstein. 1967: Alberto Garcდa-Aspe, Mexican soccer player. 1968: Jeffrey Donovan, American entertainer. 1969: Sylvia Pantoja, Spanish artist. 1970: Nicky Katt, American entertainer. 1971: Alberto Rodrდguez, Spanish producer. 1973: James Safe house, American entertainer. 1974: Benoდ®t Magimel, French entertainer. 1974: Billy Kidman, American grappler. 1975: Ziad Jarrah, Lebanese fear based oppressor who took part in 9/11 (d. 2001). 1975: Coby Ringer, American entertainer. 1977: Gonzalo Colsa, Spanish footballer. 1977: Pablo Garcდa, Uruguayan soccer player. 1977: Bobby Roode, Canadian expert grappler. 1978: Perttu Kivilaakso, Finnish cellist, of the band Apocalyptica. 1978: Laetitia Casta, French model and entertainer. 1978: Jonathan Montenegro, Venezuelan entertainer, model and artist. 1980: Francisco Buttდ³, Venezuelan baseball player. 1981: Lauren Jackson, Australian ball player. 1981: Austin O'Brien, American entertainer. 1982: Cory Monteith, American artist and entertainer (f. 2013). 1982: Jonathan Jackson, American entertainer. 1983: Holly Valance, Australian artist and entertainer. 1983: Hanna Verboom, Dutch entertainer. 1984: Victorio D'Alessandro, Argentine entertainer. 1984: Andrდ©s Iniesta, Spanish footballer. 1984: Abel Pintos, Argentine artist. 1986: Vanessa Ceruti, Chilean model and entertainer, Miss Universe Chile 2011. 1986: Abou Diaby, French soccer player. 1986: Ronny Heberson Furtado de Araდºjo, Brazilian soccer player. 1986: Miguel Veloso, Portuguese footballer. 1987: Monica Roვ?u, Romanian gymnastic specialist. 1988: Pro Hood, American rapper. 1989: Giovani dos Santos, Mexican soccer player. 1989: Ruler Royce, American artist. 1991? Gata Cattana (Ana Isabel Garcდa Llorente), writer and rapper (f. 2017) 1992: Thibaut Courtois, Belgian goalkeeper. 1993: Juan Miguel Suero, Dominican ball player. 1994: Howard Lawrence, English artist, of the band Revelation. 1999: Sabrina Craftsman, American entertainer and artist. 1999: Madison Lintz, American entertainer and artist.

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therecordchanger62279 · 1 year

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THE MEMORIAL DAY PLAYLIST

Because I have a platform for it with this blog, and because the blog focuses primarily on music, I wanted to do something for Memorial Day. I grew up in the shadow of the Vietnam War. I never served. I had a draft card, and a lottery number, but the government ended the draft just months before I would’ve been called. My number was a low one, so it’s likely I’d have been drafted, and I would’ve served rather than seek a deferment. The war ended soon after.

Though I never served, that war compromised the futures of every member of my generation. The money that might’ve been spent at home was wasted in a futile war we never had any chance of winning. It undermined our faith in the military, and in our government and elected officials. The veterans who survived that war were, at best, ignored and forgotten, and, at worst, betrayed, mistreated, and robbed of the dignity of having served their country in what they believed was a noble cause. Even today, nearly 50 years after that war ended, the Vietnam Veteran is the least recognized, and the least celebrated of any group of soldiers who served in any war in this nation’s history. There were 58,220 men and women soldiers who died in that war. The list of casualties, however, military and civilian, is incalculable.

So, I get angry every Memorial Day when I see the flags wave, and the veterans of all the other wars honored, yet again, for their service while those who served in Vietnam are shoved aside, or ignored altogether. I wanted to bring that fact to light in this space by compiling a Memorial Day Playlist of the songs that impacted my thinking about Vietnam, The Cold War, and about all wars. The list was getting so long that I finally had to stop. But on Memorial Day, if you need a reminder that the day is not for celebration, but for grief, you have only to listen to these songs, and remember one thing: if your government tells you that fighting a war is necessary, it is your duty as a citizen, and a patriot to question authority. If there is another way, questioning authority is the only way a war might be avoided. If, however, a war becomes necessary, and all other avenues have been exhausted, then fight knowing that dying is the ultimate price of freedom, and that never, ever is war a cause for celebration.

Who’ll Stop The Rain – Creedence Clearwater Revival

War – Edwin Starr

Wooden Ships – Crosby, Stills & Nash

Once I Was – Tim Buckley

Feel Like I’m A-Fixin’ To Die Rag – Country Joe & The Fish

Last Train To Clarksville – The Monkees

What’s Happenin’ Brother – Marvin Gaye

Where Have All The Flowers Gone – Kingston Trio

Waist Deep In The Big Muddy – Pete Seeger

Masters of War – Bob Dylan

Grover Henson Feels Forgotten – Bill Cosby

Find The Cost of Freedom – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Military Madness – Graham Nash

Four Days Gone – Buffalo Springfield

Vietnam – Jimmy Cliff

The Unknown Soldier – The Doors

The War Song – Graham Nash & Neil Young

2 + 2 – The Bob Seger System

Born In The U.S.A. – Bruce Springsteen

Save The Country – The 5th Dimension

War Pigs – Black Sabbath

Eve of Destruction – Barry McGuire

Galveston – Glen Campbell

Give Peace A Chance – John Lennon & Yoko Ono

Requiem For The Masses – The Association

Sky Pilot – Eric Burdon & The Animals

Machine Gun – Jimi Hendrix

With God On Our Side – Bob Dylan

Bring The Boys Home – Freda Payne

Child In Time – Deep Purple

Rich Man – Climax Blues Band

Draft Morning – The Byrds

Daniel – Elton John

People, Let’s Stop The War – Grand Funk Railroad

Sam Stone – John Prine

Sweet Cherry Wine – Tommy James & The Shondells

Slip Kid – The Who

A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall – Bob Dylan

Blowin’ In The Wind – Peter, Paul & Mary

Handsome Johnny – Richie Havens

I Don’t Wanna Get Drafted – Frank Zappa

Peace Train – Cat Stevens

Invisible Sun – The Police

The Universal Soldier – Donovan

One Tin Soldier – Original Caste

Rooster – Alice In Chains

Undefeated – Little Steven

Little Boy Soldiers – The Jam

Games Without Frontiers – Peter Gabriel

Generals & Majors – XTC

Stop The War, Now! – Edwin Starr

Soldier – Neil Young

Washington Bullets – The Clash

Us and Them – Pink Floyd

Land of Confusion – Genesis

Russians – Sting

(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding – Elvis Costello

Arlington's Busy - Graham Parker & The Rumour

The Star Spangled Banner – Jimi Hendrix

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veworlord · 2 years

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Elkhart artley flute

#ELKHART ARTLEY FLUTE TRIAL#

#ELKHART ARTLEY FLUTE PROFESSIONAL#

In 1993, I went to India to do some press and promo on the day following the terrible Bombay bombings and, pretty much the only occupant of the Oberoi Hotel next door to the bombed Air India building, I decided on the spur of the lonely moment to try to learn to play the flute properly! My hotel room had a fax machine so I asked a music store in London to send a flute fingering chart to me and mulled over all the things I had been doing wrongly over the years. 925 silver headjoint and body with silver plated key work to keep the cost down a bit.

#ELKHART ARTLEY FLUTE TRIAL#

Trevor James, a British flute and brass technician, suggested to me a trial of the Japanese Sankyo Silversonic flute and I rather liked this compromise, being an intermediate range flute (now designated by Sankyo as the CF-301 series). I only recall using it a couple of times due to the value and my fear of breaking it! You probably didn’t either.Īlong the way I bought a better flute – a Muramatsu conservatory model. I can’t say that, with my unorthadox and primitive style of playing, that I noticed much difference. This was a decidedly better instrument and I owned three of their student models including one in (to me) exotic solid silver! All my previous flutes had been so-called nickel-silver, silver plated bodies used for the cheapest student flutes to keep costs down. This was a marching band instrument made in Elkhart, Indiana and, although robust and chunky, I managed to break all the 21 that I was to own over the next 15 years! In fact, I used to travel with a case of about 12 of them to get through a long US tour and they had bits missing, dents, ingrained dirt and were a biological hazard to anyone who touched them.ĭuring the 80s, I switched to playing Japanese made Pearl flutes having been approached by the UK distributor. The lowly Gold Seal was my only instrument until it was lost or stolen in the USA in 1969 and I found a hastily-acquired local alternative in the shape of the Artley flute. But then he would, wouldn’t he? The Man With The Golden Flute has to keep up appearances! Sir James Galway plays these days a 20 Ct gold Nagahara and, very recently, a specially-commisioned thin-walled platinum flute. It has now joined his extensive collection the very poor and distant cousin to his Muramatsus, Nagaharas, Haynes, Albert Cooper and so on. I had it cleaned and restored and he managed to get a few notes out of it. I later bought for him a hard-to-find Gold Seal for a recent birthday. I think I liked mine better than he liked his, since he is often disparaging about the poor quality of his original instrument. Also it was the first flute owned by senior classical flautist Sir James Galway. So – the Selmer Gold Seal was the first one. The rest is history and well documented elsewhere. These formed the basis of the “blues scale” and I was up and running by January of 1968 and beginning to play along live in a few songs with the embryonic Jethro Tull.īy the time we were rewarded with a residency at London’s famous Marquee club, I was playing in a more confident and strident way and old school pal Jeffrey Hammond noticed my unorthodox style and introduced me to an album by American jazzer Roland Kirk who used that same bold technique of vocalising his tunes and solos. Without an instruction book or a fingering chart, I just had to make it up as I went along and soon found a few more notes, reinforced by singing them at the same time. However, early attempts to get a note out of the damned thing proved abortive and it wasn’t until December of the year that I managed to coax a wobbly, insecure note of G out of the thing. Well – at least Eric Clapton didn’t play flute so it seemed worth a try. The second choice was harder and the only thing that caught my eye was the shiny Selmer Gold Seal student flute hanging on the wall, glistening in the sunlight.

#ELKHART ARTLEY FLUTE PROFESSIONAL#

THE professional microphone, made in Chicago in the good old USA which began my long history of using Shure microphones and their other products to this day. Annes would allow me in exchange.Ī Shure Unidyne III was an easy choice. It all began in the summer of 1967 when I traded in my old Fender Strat for whatever Ken Watts, the music shop owner in Lytham-St. Some great, some not so great and some which are like old friends, even when I don’t play them so often any more. Over the last 51 years I have played and owned many flutes. I am often asked – what kind of flutes do you play?

#Elkhart artley flute

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metalsongoftheday · 2 years

Video

youtube

Monday, December 20: Alice Cooper, “Sanctuary”

Alice Cooper would eventually return to the MC5-ish hard rock of his early ‘70s classics, but before doing so he delivered a couple records with Bob Marlette that were far and away the heaviest of his career. “Sanctuary” was a crushing riffer that did away with any feints towards commercial success, and the man born Vincent Furnier spitted and snarled with an intensity that was arguably even more venomous than his days when Alice Cooper was a band. The song straight up attacked, and came as a shock to those who either onboarded or endured the previous 15 years of Alice’s attempts at hair metal- for that matter, even the original diehards were taken aback by the processed grime and force of Eric Singer’s drumming. Of course there was no way Brutal Planet was going to garner much attention, let alone sell in large volumes, but after roughly 25 years of drift, compromise and questionable decisions it was nice to hear the Coop try something new for the sake of being creative and really go for it, especially with something as forceful as “Sanctuary”.

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humans4vampires · 3 years

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Cold Heart

Context: This story was inspired by a tumblr post from tumblr user @cozycullens. The post outlined the potential for sappy holiday content that the original story lacked. The post noted that Twilight fans had to fill in the blanks; I thought it would be fun to write out what Valentine’s Day could have looked like for Edward and Bella. The timeline of this story edits the original canon, meaning the breakup in New Moon and subsequent recoupling happens earlier, allowing the pair to be reunited in time to spend both the Christmas holiday season together and Valentine’s Day. This is before the events are set in motion for the vampire army attack in Eclipse. I’d also like to mention that this story addresses a scene that occurs later in the timeline of the novel. I’ve edited it here to give Edward and Bella a bit of private time that is free of the pressures that the later happenings of Eclipse bring to the moment. In this, I have used direct quotes from Meyer’s novel, and I do not claim to own that content in any way. As stated, this is purely for fun and to share with my fellow Twilight fans.

READ PART TWO HERE

______

The dull blue grey light of the morning filtered through my window in a haze, waking me gently from inconsequential dreams. My natural instincts to unfurl myself from my usual swaddle of blankets to reach for him felt empty and unnecessary. Rather, I found myself spread across my bed in a sweaty mess of fabric.

“Edward?” I said softly, propping myself up to take in the room. I blinked quickly and tried to brush the mess of my hair from my face, speaking his name again as a question. There was no reply.

I tried to think back to the night before; I didn’t think he had gone hunting. No, he had surely been with me when I fell asleep. A compilation of Victorian poetry was open face-down on his side of my bed. We made the trip to Seattle a few weeks ago to get the book I needed to get started on my research paper. I had chosen the topic of Tennyson and Rossetti as an ironic gesture toward him – my very own post-Victorian era angel. He was reading his favorites to me, his voice a velvet whisper when I had fallen asleep in his cool embrace.

No, I was sure he had been with me throughout the night. I ran my left palm over the bare sheet beside me and felt the lingering presence of his wintry skin. It was unusual for him to leave before I woke. It was my favorite part of each day, and his. I was wondering what had called him away as I picked up the heavy text to see where he had left off. As I turned the pages to face me, a small piece of paper fluttered into my lap. The note he had left in his elegant script explained his absence.

‘Who are wise in love, love most, say least. Happy Valentine’s Day, love.’

He quoted Tennyson, I was sure, but the poem he had left open was not the same one he referenced. Instead, the book was open to Tennyson’s ‘Crossing the Bar,’ which was certainly not a love poem. I scanned it quickly, trying to garner any meaning from it without success. My mind was racing elsewhere, my heart beating quickly with exultant dread. So he had gone to prepare whatever exorbitant Valentine’s Day surprise he had planned. As fate would have it, this holiday had arrived on a school day and would provide a public audience to witness the surely over-the-top display Edward had planned for me.

Edward’s obsession with making the most of my human experiences had only intensified since reaching our compromise for Carlisle to turn me after my impending high school graduation. Christmas had been a deluge of cheer and merriment thanks to Alice, who was overcompensating for lost time with me – while also, just being Alice. I was still convinced it hadn’t snowed quite as much as she’d wanted and she had somehow managed a snow machine to fill in my yard for Christmas morning. Alice had laughed off my assumptions as absurd, but Charlie was still trying to work out how our yard had had a good three feet more snow than the rest of our neighborhood.

The halls had certainly been decked in Cullen home, too. It had to be visible from space from the sheer amount of Christmas lights neatly hung on every eave and railing. For the entire month of December, the house smelled of fresh gingerbread and pine. Every surface had been transformed with fresh garlands and shiny decorations. The fireplace in the grand living room was constantly crackling a gentle fire, flickering its light against the enormous tree trimmed with ornaments gathered over the many decades of Christmases past. And the gifts – oh – I couldn’t even bring myself to continue the thought.

I was brought back to reality, the sweet valentine in my shaking hand. I took a staggered breath and made a passing glance at the clock as I rushed to the bathroom. I tried not to think about the day ahead as I dressed. Charlie had already left for the station and the rest of my morning at home seemed to move in a blur of anxiety. I stumbled out the door in a black turtleneck, jeans, bean boots, and my mustard yellow coat. I thought my very standard attire might signal Edward to my disinterest in any outlandish public displays of affection. I drove slowly to Forks High School through the rain muddled snow. My truck dredged through the sludge into the parking spot beside the familiar silver Volvo.

The parking lot was already full and busy with the usual Friday commotion. I looked out my rearview mirror to take in the pops of pink and red from the Valentine’s baubles that everyone seemed to be toting. I had always found the holiday rather arbitrary – a well-marketed event to boost the sales of chocolates and flowers. Until my mother had found Phil, Valentine’s Day was usually spent in front of the television with a pint of ice cream, two spoons, and a chick-flick. I was trying to remember the last Valentine’s Day movie my mom and I had watched together when a quick knock on my driver’s side window snapped my eyes from my rearview.

The morning’s panic melted from my bones as I took him in. Edward was standing there, my favorite crooked smile on his lips, a single and perfect red rose held up in his hand.

“Good morning,” he murmured as I opened my door and got to my feet to stand in front of him. “Did you get my Valentine?”

“Mmm,” I hummed. “Tennyson?”

He nodded, a smirk crossing his expression. “Happy Valentine’s Day, love.”

I felt a blush beginning to mark my cheeks and looked down at my feet as he handed me my rose. He moved to rest that now empty hand above my head on the frame of my truck, leaning to tighten the space between us. His free hand swept down my jaw, his gentle fingers stopping below my chin to tilt my head up. He bent down to press his lips to mine, his cool breath sending my delicate humanity into a tailspin. The kiss was, as expected, refined… at first. Unexpectedly, he draped an arm around my body to pull me closer to his frame. He lifted me effortlessly to continue the kiss as my free hand found its way around the base of his neck and into his bronze hair.

When his response became rigid and he began to return my feet to their reluctant ground, I realized I had forgotten to breathe. My legs trembled against the sudden gravity and he steadied me as I took in sharp breaths. He chuckled lightly and shook his head.

“What am I going to do with you?” he teased.

“With any hope, that, again.”

He took a slow step back and smirked, “I do enjoy sweeping you off your feet.”

My head was still spinning as I grabbed my bag from the truck and shut the door behind me. Edward took my right hand as we walked to class, my single rose in the left.

The rest of the day continued on and I was a happy bystander to the couples declaring their love for one another throughout the day. It seemed each period passed with another sudden delivery of roses, large teddy bears, or chocolates. Joyce Lowell in Government received a loud serenade from half of the school’s marching band, her boyfriend, Aaron, the faux-conductor. Each time the door to the classroom opened my heart skipped a beat with the fresh fear that Edward might have some embarrassing demonstration planned. I wasn’t eager to hurt his feelings and so I kept the question from him all day. I had cracked by fifth period when he finally asked, “Why is your heart is thrumming like a hummingbird’s?”

“I’m worried that you have a grand romantic gesture planned,” I took a sharp breath, anxious for his response. My heart rate only increased when he shrugged and walked ahead of me into the classroom.

I was at a loss for words when he chuckled. “Am I not allowed a grand gesture on Valentine’s Day?” Panic rushed through me before he continued in a more serious tone, “Do you honestly believe that my romantic displays are akin to those of someone like Mike Newton?”

His eyes glanced down at the trinkets gathered in my arms. I thought this tradition had been left in elementary school, but it seemed my friends still enjoyed giving each other Valentine’s treats. Jessica and Angela both had given me small paper crafts and chocolates to mark the occasion. Even Tyler and Eric participated, handing out boxes of tiny heart candies.

The only class Edward could not manage to work out to have with me our senior year was math – considering my being in a far lower level than was excusable for him to fail into. This, of course, was the only class I had exclusively with Mike. I had found it funny that it bothered Edward in the slightest; until today, when Mike seized the opportunity to give me a large stuffed bear, a rather huge box of chocolates, and a clearly handmade valentine. All platonically, Mike had assured me, as he was still on-and-off with Jessica and I was still very much Edward’s – only Edward’s.

I shook my head as I fumbled to stack all of my favors onto a pile on my desk, keeping the rose in my hand to tap lightly on the tip of Edward’s nose.

He tilted his brow at my playful gesture. “You have nothing to worry about. I simply have arranged for us to have a night alone. My family have their own Valentine’s Day traditions and we’ll have the house to ourselves. For this one night could we try to forget everything besides just you and me?” he pleaded, unleashing the full force of his eyes on me. “It seems like I can never get enough time like that. I need to be with you. Just you.”

“No,” I shook my head again. “Just you is good.”

The hitch in my tone caught his attention, but he didn’t have a chance to respond. Mr. Banner began lecturing on optics and light. I couldn’t focus on Physics; I could only hear Edward’s methodic voice repeating ‘I need to be with you’ again and again. Each passing thought brought a new blush to my cheeks that I tried to hide behind a curtain of my hair. I was sure he could hear my fluttering heart, but I couldn’t focus on that either. I was entirely clouded with thoughts of him. I stared at his strong hands, folded together in front of him on the table. How I imagined them on my body a million times, his cold fingertips grazing over my bare skin in the places he refused to wander. It was all I could think of the rest of the day.

When I was back in my room, a different blur of anxiety plagued me than when I had left it in the morning. Edward and I went our separate ways after school. He had filled me in on how exactly he had planned to handle the issue of Charlie. My father was still learning to trust me again and another night out of the house was certainly going to come under some heavy interrogation. I was technically still grounded even though Edward had been following Charlie’s very strict rules to a perfect degree. I was sure that Charlie hadn’t missed the fact that it was Valentine’s Day and I could only imagine the things he would think Edward and I would be doing if left alone. I was pressing the subject when Edward said, “Esme spoke with Charlie today and let him know that Carlisle is taking my brothers and I on a long-promised camping trip. You’ll be having a girls’ night with Esme, Alice, and Rosalie, as Charlie knows it. He’s been hoping you’d be spending more time with Alice soon.”

I felt a twinge of guilt for all the lying that had to be done to protect Charlie. This lie was much less to protect him from the perils of life threatening vampire attacks and much more about protecting him from the thought of his teenage daughter being alone with her boyfriend on Valentine’s Day. The guilt subsided when I remembered that I would get to be alone with Edward.

I stood in my room, hands steadying me on my dresser, knees shaking from the anticipation. The mix of emotions kept wracking me in waves. Edward had made it very clear; we could not be together physically until I was changed. My safety, was not something he was willing to jeopardize to satisfy any desire – which, to his credit, was entirely the reason I was alive. It was difficult to argue with Edward on that fact, but it was so incredibly difficult to argue with my own desires, still. And yet, I felt foolish all the same. I was so intensely human. Though he’d told me many times that he felt the same way for me, I knew he couldn’t possibly lust for me the way I did for him. I was able to reason that point logically, but part of me questioned it in this moment. Had he changed his mind?

I knew what was waiting for me at the Cullens’. It hadn’t been much more than a month since the last time I had genuinely spent the night there for a ‘girls’ night.’ Edward didn’t want me anywhere near Jacob and so Edward had been avoiding distant hunting trips to keep a close watch on me. Alice was all too eager to babysit to allow Edward a satiating hunt; it left me free to be played with as if I were her life-sized doll. That wasn’t what I was fixated on now. The image of the intricate wrought-iron bed burned in my mind. The thought of Edward and I wrapped tenderly in its golden threads made me quiver again, a sigh escaping my lips.

A knock at the front door made my heart stutter. I heard Charlie gather himself up off the couch to get the door. I stopped listening and only heard the light murmur of greetings as I rushed to find something appropriate to wear. What kind of outfit were you supposed to put together to seduce your vampire boyfriend? I was clashing hangers together across the pole, a bit frantic, when I heard her behind me.

Alice shook her head. “You look like you need to sit down. Let me handle this,” she said.

I decided it was better not to argue with her. I was, in all fairness, a mess, and there was only so much harm she could do with my own wardrobe to work with. She confidently pulled my small duffle from the top shelf of my closet and began packing things without truly looking at them. She had already seen what she would need.

I was sitting in my rocking chair when she looked back to me, still absently packing my bag. She looked like she was waiting for me to say something, but I swallowed uncomfortably rather than working up the nerve to talk.

She cast me a sympathetic smile as she removed something from my closet and tossed it toward me. “Try this,” she said.

I stood to change into the hyacinth blue sweater Alice had given it to me as a Christmas gift. Unlike many of the other fashion pieces Alice had tried to dress me in, I did like it. It was soft, probably a thin cashmere, with a plunging V neckline. It fit my frame tightly and was flattering in a way that I couldn’t justify being embarrassed by. She moved to my dresser then, digging through the very bottom drawer to pull out a short skirt she had also gifted me that I was not particularly fond of. Before I could argue, she slung it onto the bed.

“Work with me here, Bella,” she said sternly.

I pulled on the black skirt without a fight. Alice finished off my outfit with a pair of expensive black leather boots.

“And those were a gift from Esme, before you think of disputing them,” she lectured.

“No, I like them. At least they’re covering more of my skin,” I said, zipping them up.

Alice peaked her eyebrows, a smirk budding on her face as she closed my bag. I felt the rush of blood on my complexion again. “Alice – “

“Come on, let’s go before you lose it,” she said quickly, pulling my hand and leading me out of my room and down the stairs.

Charlie didn’t bother looking away from the television as we called a quick goodbye to him. Alice carried me through the slush in a movement so brief that I had no time to process it, placing me in the passenger seat of her small yellow Porsche. Forks blurred outside the windows and in the darkness of the car, it was easier for me to talk about what I was getting myself into.

“Does he…” I asked in her direction, not finishing the thought.

“I don’t think I should really say anything, Bella.” She answered, plainly.

“Since when do you keep things to yourself, Alice?”

She chuckled quietly, “Whatever I say now is not going to help. I’m just dropping you off. You’re not the only one with Valentine’s Day plans, you know.”

“That’s not fair,” I complained. “He’s seen whatever you’ve seen. He’s not going into this blind like I am.”

“Oh, yes he is,” she said proudly. “I’ve been careful to stay away from him today – and it’s not quite clear what’s going to happen. You’ve only been growing bolder in the last few hours.”

Bolder? I certainly didn’t feel it. In the light of the dashboard, I saw Alice turn to me as the car began to slow. We were already in the driveway. When the car stopped, I felt a quick breeze from the opening and closing of her door. She had slung my bag over her shoulder quickly before arriving at my door to help me to the porch steps. I doubted even Alice thought I was that uncoordinated to walk a few feet without falling; she was carrying me everywhere to keep the boots safe, I thought. She set me down on the porch and walked ahead of me into the house. I followed her in, confused.

“I thought you said you were just dropping me off?”

We were in the living room when she said, “I am. Edward isn’t here yet. He had an errand to run. He’ll be here soon and we’ll be gone – don’t worry.”

A fresh blush met my cheeks as I locked eyes with the another set in the room. Rosalie was perched on the edge of the sofa, bent over the coffee table arranging what looked like a large photo album. She had small papers and photos scattered all over the table, some in small piles on the floor beside her. She gazed up at me with the come-to-be-expected level of enthusiasm I generally received, but there was a hint of something else in her expression. It caught me by surprise and left me gawking at her silently. Rosalie’s appearance always struck me, but tonight she was especially beautiful. Her tight satin dress was just the perfect shade of red to compliment her equally satin skin, her golden hair a perfect, elegant twist, and her long bare legs crossed in front of her were only further elongated by her strappy, red stilettos. Alice had done her best with me, but I felt myself self-consciously tug at the hem of my skirt.

That inexplicable look that I had caught in Rosalie’s expression seemed to grow stronger as she gauged my assessment of her. A small smile crossed her lips as she looked back to what she was working on and I looked to Alice, who was dancing back down the stairs now. I hadn’t noticed her departure, but she was already redressed in an ensemble that mirrored the glamour of Rosalie’s. Alice bent one leg up behind her, fastening the tiny buckle on the strap of her heel, careful not to bend and crease the fabric on her burgundy slip-dress.

“Alright, Rose. Let’s not keep them waiting any longer.” Alice rolled her eyes at me quickly before Rosalie noticed. Alice had her keys in her tiny hands as she walked my direction to head for the door.

“I will see you tomorrow,” she said with a coy grin.

Rosalie was out the door faster than I could follow. I turned to Alice as she moved at a more mortal pace. “Where are you going?” I asked.

Alice waved as she replied, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Bella!” The door was shut behind her then. I heard the muffled roar of her Porsche as she and Rosalie left me behind. I assumed that I was completely alone then. I was curious to know where they were going, but my mind was busy calculating other worries. I stood in the Cullens’ living room, taking in the sheer silence. The only sound was coming from the low burning fire still crackling dimly in the fireplace. I unlocked my tense limbs to move toward the heat. I stopped briefly to survey Rosalie’s project and flipped through a couple of pages on the bound album.

Were these all valentines? I picked up a few loose papers from the table and skimmed them quickly. It seemed that Rosalie had been collecting notes from her admirers for decades, compiling the highlights in an album with cards dating back to 1929. Some of the earlier letters were from when she was still human, if I wasn’t mistaken. A few authors were brave enough to sign their names, but most were anonymous confessions. I spent more time snooping through Rosalie’s valentines than I should have, but part of me thought that she must have wanted me to see them. Why else would she have left them all here?

I focused myself again and took a seat on the edge of the hearth.

I was glad I had a moment to gather myself and took the opportunity to take a few deep, but unsteady, breaths. Why was I so unnerved? I closed my eyes and tried to summon my buried fantasies of Edward. There I let myself imagine him, pulling me tightly to his chest, letting his lips roam my jaw, my neck, and the dips of my collarbones. What would he look like bare? I’d only been able to guess the parts of him that were always just beyond my reach. I let those thoughts in too, imagining my own fingers tracing patterns around the curves of his muscles. To bring him close to me, skin to skin – the thought alone painted my face in a soft blush. I bit my lip, letting go a full breath I had been holding. I opened my eyes then and immediately found him.

He was standing across the room from me, a statue of indescribable, sculpted beauty, leaning on the wall casually. He had a peaceful expression resting in his features, but his bright golden eyes were burning with something I couldn’t explain. My favorite crooked smile slowly crossed his lips as his eyes seemed to search my body. I blushed more deeply, a decision forming more firmly in my mind.

I loved him, purely, and every ounce of my body and soul ached to be his. It was exactly the reason I had asked him to change me himself. I wanted his venom to alter me permanently, his lips on my skin to be the last human sensation I’d ever feel. I wanted to be tangibly his, forever; for Edward to lay claim to me in an absolute and eternal way. If I was his, then he was mine. This desire burned in me more brightly in this moment than it ever had. But there were other human sensations I ached for now. And suddenly, I was sure I was not willing to sacrifice them.

Edward moved slowly across the room to perch in front of me. The height of the hearth and his tall body in a crouch before me, leveled us to be equally face-to-face. As he bent, he balanced a small, thin velvet box on my knees. I made no move to open it, so he chuckled lightly and opened it to reveal a small glittering heart-shaped charm. Even in the dim firelight, the brilliant crystal’s intricate cuts glinted countless sparkling rays of color. It was hung on a silver chain as thin as thread.

He was the first to break the silence.

“It was my mother’s.” He shrugged deprecatingly. “I inherited quite a few baubles like this. I’ve given some to Esme, Alice, and Rosalie throughout the years. So, clearly, this is not a big deal in any way.” I could feel his eyes on me, but I continued to stare down, not quite ready to speak. “A hand-me-down,” he reminded me sternly. “You said that was allowable.”

“I guess I did say that,” I said in a whisper.

He chuckled at my reluctance. “I thought it was a good representation,” he continued. “It’s hard and cold.” He laughed. “And it throws rainbows in the sunlight.”

“You forgot the most important similarity,” I murmured. “It’s beautiful.”

“My heart is just as silent,” he mused. “And it, too, is yours.”

I offered the box to him and moved to gather my hair away from my neck, turning to the fire. As he moved to clasp the chain around my neck, I said, “Thank you for both.”

His fingers seemed to linger on the skin of my throat as I turned back to face him. Our lips were only inches apart now. I moved my hands to wrap them around his neck.

“No, thank you. It’s a relief to have you accept a gift so easily. Good practice for you, too.” He grinned, flashing his teeth. His eyes wandered down to take pride in his accepted gift. I was grateful for the plunging neckline of my sweater when his gaze lingered where the crystal charm hung delicately above my chest. I made a mental note to thank Alice later and took a steadying breath. I began to feel cautiously optimistic. Perhaps getting what I wanted would not be as difficult as I’d expected it to be.

No, of course it was going to be just exactly that difficult. I cleared my throat lightly and braced myself. “Can we discuss something?” I asked. “I’d appreciate it if you could begin by being open-minded.”

He hesitated for a moment and returned his eyes to mine. “I’ll give it my best effort,” he agreed, cautious now. He unwrapped my arms from around his neck as he moved to put space between us.

“I’m not breaking any rules here,” I promised. “This is strictly about you and me.”

“Listen to your heart fly,” he murmured. “It’s fluttering like a hummingbird’s wings,” he repeated the analogy he had applied to me earlier in the day. “Are you all right?”

“I’m great,” I said formally. I wondered why I was being so formal.

“Please go on then,” he encouraged.

“Well, I guess, first, I wanted to talk to you about that whole ridiculous marriage condition.”

“It’s only ridiculous to you. What about it?” He was backing further away from me now.

I leaned closer to him, placing my hands on his knees to keep him near me. “I was wondering… is that open to negotiation?”

Edward frowned, serious now. “I’ve already made the largest concession by far and away – I’ve agreed to take your life against my better judgment. And that ought to entitle me to a few compromises on your part.”

“No.” I shook my head, focusing on keeping my face composed. “That part’s a done deal. We’re not discussing that now. I want to hammer out some other details.”

He looked at me suspiciously. “Which details do you mean exactly?”

I hesitated. “Let’s clarify your prerequisites first – matrimony?” I made it sound like a dirty word.

“Yes.” He smiled a wide smile. “To start with.”

The shock spoiled my carefully composed expression. “There’s more?”

“Well,” he said, his face calculating. “If you’re my wife, then what’s mine is yours… So there would be no issue with Dartmouth tuition.”

“Anything else? While you’re already being absurd?”

“Time. I’m finding it quite ephemeral… like it’s slipping through my fingers,” as he spoke, he rose his finger tips to sweep a gentle line over my exposed collarbones.

I shook my head, trying to forget his distracting touch. “No. No time. That’s a deal breaker.”

He sighed longingly. “Just a year or two?”

I refused to give into his burning amber eyes. “What else?”

“That’s it. Unless you’d like to talk cars…”

He grinned widely when I grimaced, then took my hand and began playing with my fingers. “I didn’t realize there was anything else you wanted besides being transformed into a monster yourself. I’m extremely curious.” His voice was low and soft. The slight edge would have been hard to detect if I hadn’t known it so well.

I paused, staring at his hand on mine. I still didn’t know how to begin. I felt his eyes watching me and I was afraid to look up. The blood began to burn in my face.

His cool hand cupped my cheek. “You’re blushing?” he asked in surprise. I kept my eyes down. “Please, Bella, the suspense is painful.”

I bit my lip.

“Bella.” His tone reproached me now, reminding me that it was hard for him when I kept my thoughts to myself.

“Edward,” I said, nervous, staring at a freckle on my wrist. “There’s something that I want to do before I’m not human anymore.”

He waited for me to continue. I didn’t. My face was hot.

“Whatever you want,” he encouraged, anxious and completely clueless.

“Do you promise?” I muttered, knowing my attempt to trap him with his words was not going to work. But he was unable to resist my coaxing.

“Yes,” he said. I looked up through my lashes to see that his eyes were earnest and confused. “Tell me what you want, and you can have it.”

I couldn’t believe how awkward and idiotic I felt. I was too innocent. I didn’t have the faintest idea how to be seductive. I would just have to settle for flushed and self-conscious.

“You,” I mumbled almost incoherently.

“I’m yours.” He smiled, still oblivious, trying to hold my gaze as I looked away again.

I took a deep breath and leaned closer to him, pressing my lips to his. He kissed me back, bewildered but willing, his lips gentle against mine. I began to slide my hands from his knees, up his thighs and slowly toward his waist. I hadn’t gotten very far when I all but heard the click in his head as he put together my words and my actions, his lips freezing in place.

He pushed me away at once, his face heavily disapproving.

“Be reasonable, Bella.”

“Edward, I –. “ He had cut me off, placing a single finger over my lips to quiet me.

“No.” His face was hard.

I was surprised by my reaction to his dismissal. I raised my hand to swat at his. My action didn’t move him, of course, but he moved his hand from my mouth in response. “You are not going to shush me,” I said sternly. “We’re here discussing terms of an eternity together – marriage and other promises – but sex?” I said the word louder than the rest. “Edward, why can’t we talk about sex?”

He was frozen there, hands at his side, eyes locked on mine. I felt the charge of adrenaline passing quicker than it had come. We sat there for a moment in silence with only my quick breathing and rapid pulse as audio. I shifted my gaze down as the rush subsided. It took me a minute to recognize why I was staring at my freckle again, the blush returning – why my stomach felt uneasy, why there was too much moisture in my eyes, why I suddenly wanted to run from the room.

Rejection washed through me, instinctive and strong.

I knew it was irrational. He’d been very clear on other occasions that my safety was the only factor. Yet I’d never made myself quite so vulnerable before. It was hard to beg for the mercy of an angel.

Edward moved then, bringing his hand up to my chin to pull my face up until I had to look at him again. He scrutinized my face for a long moment while I tried unsuccessfully to twist away from his gaze. His brow furrowed, and his expression became horrified as I continued to fight off the onslaught of water in my eyes.

His other hand rushed to my cheek, his thumb stroking there reassuringly. “You know why I have to say no,” he murmured. “You know that I want you, too.”

“Do you?” I whispered, my voice full of accusation and doubt.

He held my face at my jaw now, his fingers on my neck at the base of my hair. “Of course I do, you beautiful, oversensitive girl.” He laughed once, and then his voice was bleak. “Doesn’t everyone? I feel like there’s a line behind me, jockeying for position, waiting for me to make a big enough mistake… You’re too desirable for your own good.”

It seemed like he wanted to press on, anxiety flooding him as it had me throughout the day. I took a breath.

“Tell me if I have anything wrong,” I tried to sound detached. “Your demands are marriage, college, more time, and a faster car.”

“Only the first is a demand,” he said taking a breath. “The others are merely requests.”

“And my lone, solitary demand is – “

“Demand?” he interrupted, on edge again.

“Yes, demand.” I said confidently, looping my fingers around his wrists and tugging until he dropped them. I was not going to concede, now that I knew he wanted this as badly as I did. I would have to be brave for the both of us. I kept my gaze locked on his, placing a hand on his chest to request more space between us.

Edward immediately responded, backing up slightly and resting on his knees with room in front of him. Without breaking the contact we had, I slid down so that we were both on our knees. I brought both hands to the collar of his shirt and began to unbutton slowly, never moving my eyes from his.

“Please,” I begged. “There is nothing I want more than you.”

He took a deep breath. I was surprised that it sounded a little unsteady.

“I could kill you,” he whispered.

I had the last button undone then and slid the fabric from his shoulders to the floor. I was gliding my hands down his chest and placing my lips over his heart when I murmured against his skin. “I don’t think you could.”

As I kissed him there, a low sound escaped his lips. A moan? My body ached in a way it never had. I felt electrified. My heart jolted, words tumbling out of my mouth to take advantage of the sudden uncertainty in his eyes. “Please, try,” I pleaded.

His hands were wrapped around my biceps then, his head bent down to bring his lips to my ear, making me shiver. “This is unbearable. So many things I’ve wanted to give you – and this is what you demand. Do you have any idea how painful it is, refusing you when you plead with me this way?”

“Then don’t refuse,” I suggested breathlessly.

He didn’t respond. I tossed my head back to catch my breath, letting my hair fall down behind me. Edward’s hands still held my arms firmly. “Please,” I tried again.

He bent his head to my neck. “Bella…” He shook his head slowly, but it didn’t feel like denial as his face, his lips, moved back and forth across my throat. It felt more like surrender. My heart sputtered frantically when his lips finally stopped to embrace my skin. The same low sound spilled from my lips now, which seemed to hit Edward with the same electrical shock.

His grip tensed instantly and I was sure he was going to push me away again.

I was wrong.

His lips were on mine, his hands pulling me up to close the space between us. His mouth was not gentle; there was a brand-new edge of conflict and desperation in the way his lips moved. When his hands moved into my hair, I locked my arms around his neck, tightening my hold on him. To my suddenly overheated skin, his body felt colder than ever. I trembled, but it was not from the chill.

He didn’t stop kissing me. I was the one who had to break away, gasping for air. Even then his lips did not leave my skin, they just moved to my throat. So quickly that I wasn’t even sure how it happened, I was in his arms, his lips still exploring my skin, as we nearly flew through the house. Human velocity was not fast enough for him. We were in his bedroom then, still locked in each other’s arms as he fell onto his back on the bed.

The thrill of victory was a strange high; it made me feel powerful. Brave. My hands weren’t unsteady now and my fingers traced the patterns I had dreamed of a thousand times. He was too beautiful. What was the word he had used? Unbearable – that was it. His beauty was too much to bear…

I was on top of him, our lips pulled together again and moving in heated sync. Edward’s hands were exploring my body. His hands were tight around my waist, straining me closer to him. All I wanted was my skin to be bare against his – his grip made it difficult to reach to remove my sweater, but not impossible. Just as I had my stomach exposed, cold iron fetters locked around my wrists, and pulled my hands above my head, which was suddenly on a pillow.

His lips were at my ear again. “Bella,” he murmured, his voice warm and velvet. “Stop trying to take your clothes off.”

“Do you want to do that part?” I asked breathlessly.

“Not tonight,” he answered softly. His lips were slower now against my cheek and jaw, all the urgency gone.

“Edward, don’t –,” I started to argue, trying to free my hands and arching my body to mold myself more closely to him.

“I’m not saying no,” he reassured me. “I’m just saying not tonight.”

I had never felt frustration this way before. I was restless, eyes wild and questioning on his.

“I wasn’t born yesterday,” he laughed. “Out of the two of us, which do you think is more unwilling to give the other what they want? You just promised to marry me before you do any changing, but if I give in tonight, what guarantee do I have that you won’t go running off to Carlisle in the morning? I am – clearly – much less reluctant to give you what you want. Therefore… you first.”

I exhaled with a loud huff. “I have to marry you first?” I asked in disbelief.

“That’s the deal – take it or leave it. A compromise.” Edward pressed himself to me, urging me to accept his terms. His arms wrapped around me, and he began kissing me in a way that should be illegal. Too persuasive – it was duress, coercion. I tried to keep a clear head… and failed quickly and absolutely.

“How did this happen?” I moaned, and not in a good way. “I thought I was holding my own tonight – for once – and now, all of a sudden – “

“You’re engaged,” he finished.

“Edward, no.” I objected.

“Are you going back on your word?” he demanded. He pulled back to read my face. His expression was entertained. He was having fun.

I glared at him, trying to ignore the way his smile made my heart react.

“Are you?” he pressed.

“No,” I groaned. “No. I’m not. I just need time to think. I can’t think right now – give me some time to think.”

He kissed me again quickly. Another too persuasive kiss.

“Take all the time you need.”

He kissed me another time. “Do you get the feeling that everything is backward?” he laughed. “Traditionally, shouldn’t you be arguing my side, and I yours?”

“There isn’t much that’s traditional about you and me.”

Neither of us would surrender in this moment – that was clear. But there were compromises that were pending on the horizon. And, if nothing, I had this night to service my fantasies for awhile. I bit my lip and chuckled.

“I’m curious,” I sighed. “What exactly did you have planned for tonight?”

He didn’t answer. Instead he was up and out of the bed, a hand extended toward me.

I let out my last sigh of contest and threw my hands down on the bed to heave myself up. Edward laughed to himself as I slid to the edge of the bed and stood. I fidgeted in my sweater and straightened my skirt as I walked toward him. I took his hand and noticed him taking in my figure again.

I raised a brow. “Did you want to get back in bed?”

Edward chuckled again, shaking his head. “No, but please do remind me to thank Alice in the morning.”

I rolled my eyes as he led me from his bedroom and into the rest of our romantic evening alone.

PART TWO

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Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Twilight Saga world, which is trademarked by Stephenie Meyer and Little Brown Books. All characters referenced are owned by Stephenie Meyer, and I do not claim any ownership over them or the Twilight Saga. The story told here is of my own invention. This story is for entertainment only – fun – and is not part of the official story line. I am grateful to Stephenie Meyer for the creation of these characters and I in no way am profiting from the creation and publication of this story. Some lines are directly quoted from Meyer’s book, Eclipse, and I do not claim to own Meyer’s words.

References:

Meyer, Stephenie. Eclipse. Little, Brown, 2013.

Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, and W. E. Williams. Tennyson: Poems. Penguin, 1985.

#edwardcullen #edwardandbella #valentinesday #twilight renaissance #twilightfanfic #twilightfanfiction #twilightsaga

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popculturebuffet · 3 years

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Ducktales Reviews: The Town Where Everyone Was Nice! or Scrooge Is the Lindburgh Baby

Saludos Amigos! The Ride of the Three Cablleros has at long last come to the last stop before it’s final phase. It’s been a hell of a ride so far: Our boys have tried to woo some ladies, performed some black magic, had some sort of drug trip, dealt with Donald’s ego, helped goofy ungoofy himself...

“SEASONS CHANGE, TIMES CHANGE BUT UNGOOFY IS FOREVER AND ALWAYS HE IS ALWAYS THERE” ... I created this magificent stalion.. kinda I think he came out of a styigan hole in the universe from the darkest dark in the dark of the dark... I can’t be sure. Our heroes fought an arrogant prince, found a lost city and helped donald get his smile back. All culminating in our heroes going to Spain for some reason, soundtracking Goofy’s win against Horace in Flamico Dancing, somehow that wasn’t a Covid induced fever dream I had but the actual premise of the episode, and then played some soccer with Daisy’s cousin and Pancho Pete. All in all we’ve had some good times getting here and I feel acomplished having made it this far. While I’ve still got quite a ways to go, getting this far means I really made something.. and not just the 80 something dollars it took to comission all of this. And I genuinely just want to thank all of you for reading these as these have easily been some of my most popular reviews and @weirdkev27 for comissioning all of this. It’s been easily one of my faviorite projects so far and I look forward to the final leg of it soon. For now though we have one last adventure before the biggest one starts. But before we can dive into it you probably have a few questions, and since I don’t really need to give Ducktales 2017 a lavish introduction as unlike most stuff so far this show is well and familiar: it’s what got me started reviewing animation on this blog, it’s what got me into the duck community as a full member, and it’s what caught Kev’s attention leading to this entire series. So I have time to answer the questions your probably asking and if your not.. well here’s the answers anyway Wait aren’t you going to cover Louie’s Eleven?: Nope. While I love that episode, I already did a full review of it earlier this year. I saw no reason to completely and utterly redo the entire thing when my opinions toward the episode haven’t really changed. That being said since I didn’t touch on the boys characterizations in that one too much and since I do want this retrospective to be comprehensive, I will talk about Panchito And Jose’s characterization there briefly during this review at the right time as a compromise.

Wait why isn’t THIS the last stop since it came out AFTER Legend of the Three Cablleros: Simple.. it felt unsatsfying to both me and kev to end on this one. While their apperance here IS a good one and a big deal... it’s also ANOTHER guest apperance. It’s something I didn’t quite realize for now but outside of the movie.. every apperance after is them guest starring in another series. Their aperances in Don Rosa’s Duck Comics, while awesome and treating them with proper respect, were still them showing up to shake up Donald’s stories and formulas. They were LITERAL guest stars in House of Mouse, and Roadster Racers was entirely just “let’s shove them in there because we can”. Legend.. is their story. Their moment in the sun after too damn long with all three as main characters and while being a lead is normal for donald, Jose and Panchito really HAVEN’T had that shot outside of their home countries. To be the hero of their own fully realized epic adventure. So it just fits best to have the road lead there instead of have all that happen.. then go back to yet another guest appearance. The other major factor.. is that while Legend came out around the same time as ducktales, to the point many compared and contrast both shows treatment of Donald, this episode is what most non-latin american audiences saw first as it took Disney WAY too damn long to air the series over here.. i.e. until Disney Plus launched, finding it somewhere online was the only option despite the series being produced in america with some really big american names voice acting wise. Point is this came first to some people, so i’m using that as a flimsy excuse to put it ahead so we get a better finale.

Now all that’s settled, let’s dive into “The Town Where Everyone Was Nice!” and see what one of the best duck propeties period makes of our boys.

We open in a remote town in Brazil. It’s the Festival of the Flower.. which is a bit off to me. While it DOES kind of make plot sense.. the problem is the lure was written to Panchito and Jose.. Jose whose a brazil native and could’ve possibly been supscious that a tourist invintation wasn’t in Brazilian Portugese, the countries national language and something I specifically researched just to see what it’d be called. For the record it’d be O Festival da Flor acording to google translate, which still sounds neat, Webby could’ve still said it means festival of the flower. It just feels like a missed opportunity from a creative team that’s taken such pains to make the series feel as authentic as possible and clearly put a lot of hard work and research into making each location feel like it’s real world counterpart. But it’s a minor thing and we soon get our two plots for the episode: Our B Plot.. is that Dewey can’t stay the fuck off his phone and is taking pictures rather than actually getting experiences with Louie enabling him, while Webby gets increasingly frustrated at Dewey not actually botherting to experince this unique and obscure culture. We’ll get back to this in a bit.

Our main plot naturally concerns the reason our heroes are here: Donald is reuniting with The Cabs, who in this continuity are his old College friends who Scrooge hates due to having to listen to them practice constnatly and tells the kids they’d hate it worse than his playing the bagpipes.

Bagpipes are objectively the worst insterument on earth. They are loud, unharmonic and generally just obnoxious. I do respect how important they are to Scotland, home of David Tennant, Grant Morrision and .. Alan Cumming and James Macavoy? Wait what? that’s awesome! Point is Scotland is great but I do not like the bagpipes except when Bugs Bunnny is murdering them. Honestly Donald’s college band was probably more like this. Nothing bad at all just mildly pathetic and mildly pathetic is what got Donald a girlfriend, so it’s not a bad look

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That brings me to another point: Scrooge is pretty obnoxious in this episode. It seems like his sole reason for coming was to bitch about Donald’s old college band. He could’ve just sent them a stern letter like the pros at being a cranky old geezer do.

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I do GET why he’s here as there are some REALLY damn funny bits with him in the a-plot, it just feels like they could’ve justified it better. But on to better things as Jose and Panchito enter the scene after Scrooge claims they “weren’t so cool”.. with Panchito diving from a plane and drifting down on his umbrella

And Panchito shows up dramatically playing the guitar. A truly awesome and worthy intro to our boys. So let’s talk about them in this series. Honestly the two really aren’t that diffrent from usual, though Jose’s lady chasing is given to Panchito, his footloose world traveling lifestyle remains in tact as does his genuine charm while Panchito remains the peppy one, just with his outbursts gone as his guns are replaced with cell phones..

Yeah while I do get replacing the pistols because let’s face it the mexican of the group being a gun nut was pretty damn unfortunate, though Don Rosa toned it down and justifed it well, and frankly guns are a hard no for family shows these days unless their laser guns so replacing them I get. But instead of I dunno giving him knives or turning his holsters into pouches carrying his stuff.. he just has two Cell Phones. It’s weird. It dosen’t really make sense other than for him putting on a big shot act and even big stars probably don’t have two phones on them at all times. It’s just a VERY weird update that makes not a whole lot of logical sense and I belivie is thankfully gone by the next ep. The only real issue I have is the two just sorta blend together personality wise instead of being distinct like usual, but that’s also happened in other apperances, so it’s not exactly a new or unique problem, and the two’s voice actors do a great job making both feel like they should.

Speaking of which let’s just go ahead and discuss that elephant in the room: The Cabs were recast for the first time in ages, which didn’t sit well with friends of legend as Eric Bauza, who’d replaced rob Paulsen, was himself replaced by Arturo Del Puerto and Bernado Del Paulo replaced Jamie Camil and Carlos Aquazi as Panchito. And I have mixed opinons on this one: Replacing Eric was a no brainer: while he’s a terrific voice actor.. he’s not brazilian and the crew of Ducktales 2017 perfer to cast actors who match their characters backgrounds, which again adds to the authenicty of it’s globetrotting and scope. They don’t ALWAYS, Cree Summer isn’t, as far as I know, Egyptian and Catherine Tate, while wonderful, isn’t italian. But for the most part it adds a nice flavor to things and frankly I personally prefer it when Jose is voiced by an actual brazilian man. So that change i’m fine with. Not using Camil though... I do not get. Jamie Camil is a throughly talented voice actor, having done TONS of great work lately , vocing Globgor for star vs and not getting nearly enough screen time as the loveable demon dad, and stealing the show as Don Carnage earlier in the series. While that episode is one of the series weakest, he’s still easily the best part of it and I hope Carnage shows up one last time before the finale.

So it really makes.. no sense to me to replace him. Not only is camil a bigger named actor, but he was already on the show and even the defense of “well they don’t want actors playing multiple rolls” ended up utterly destroyed by the end of the season, as Christ Dimatopolus not only reprised Storkules, but went on to play Drake and Melon, and picked up a FOURTH role in season 3 as Hades. My point is the show has no real issue with doubling up on voice rolls, so I scratch my head as to why Camil wasn’t given this part too despite being the obvious choice. Del Paulo isn’t a bad actor and is great in the role.. I just scratch my head why he was needed when a perfect actor for the part was right there and already had experince with the character.

I do think Puerto and Paulo are terrific and do the characters justice, issues with Paulo being there at all aside, and they do a great job and more than earned the roles and I don’t think the mass critcisim of this version of the characters is entirely warranted.. for this episode. This episode while they can meld into each other... that happens in most of their apperances anyway, so it’s not unusual or unique to this series. I will say however that the way their written in their next apperance is utter garbage: they aren’t really given any chances to be distinct, are basically written as one person even worse .. and that one person is a greedy asshole who takes advantage of their friend and never apologizes. I do get why people did not like them in that episode. I do think it has no baring on this one and people should stop bashing these versions as a whole for one terrible episode, especially when Louie has been written pretty badly for the bulk of season 3, yet is still not a bad character. It’s unfair to paint the series as painting them soley as selfish jackasses when it didn’t at first and hopefully wont’ again when they presumibly show up for the finale’s big avengers endgame sequence I hope is coming. For now they aren’t bad and the colors are crisp and the animation nice and bouncy on our boys.

Since we have two plots here, I’m just going to go ahead and split em since honestly, the b plot dosen’t really impact the a-plot until really the last minute and is basically happening right along side it and in concert with it. Sooooo...

The Trite B-Plot: As you can probably gather I didn’t really like this one. It’s basically 5-7 minutes of me wanting to punch a child in the face. Or rather Webby wanting to have fun experinces and actually take in the culture while in town, while Dewey just wants to take pictures of everything, make it seem like he did stuff, and generally is obnoxious to webby while Louie supports him wholeheartdly. That last part is really one of the few good parts of the plot as it’s nice for one of the brothers plots to NOT be about them being in conflict or squabbling but just hanging out and having some fun, doubly so since i’ve had to spend a season watching Louie , outside of a few good exceptions be an absolute dick to Huey and also Dewey once. It’s nice to just see him and Dewey bond over a shared intrest: posting shit online and getting good photos.

And it’s not without GOOD gags: Dewey’s obnoxious captions at one point while Webby continually looses her shit, Louie continually saying “that’s so wise” at Dewey’s bullshit philosphies, Webby’s continued annoyance is delivered great by Kate as always, and the best bit is Webby, utterly pissed at Dewey for refusing to eat Local Cuisine, wolfing down the entire fucking plate, all the dumplings in her mouth at once while Dewey, naturally, takes a picture. Otherwise this is just.. grating. It’s utterly grating to watch Webby GENUINELY try hard to absorb the local culture and really enjoy a once in a life time experince.. while Dewey jackasses about and basically acts like she’s wrong for it and treats his best friend like garbage. Just because i’ts nice it’s not Louie this time doesen’t make one of the kids being a dick without any nuance or character stuff suddenly great. It’s just tiresome.

And SOMEHOW , despite already not liking it the first time watching the episode.. it’s even WORSE now afterlast years. No not because I watched it while having to put up with Coronoavirus induced Chills, but because another show did this plot 100 times better: Close Enough. One of the best new shows of the year, Close Enough had a plot where exes Bridget and Alex, aka yet aother great set of Kimiko Glenn and Jason Mantzokus characters, went on vacation together, but their attempts to have some ex sex fell flat due to longstanding issues we found about through this plot: Bridget has a bad habit of doing what Dewey did, focusing way more on her social than actually enjoying her vacatoin while Alex has a bad habit of befreinding random weirdos who agree with his worldview. Keep in mind this is the same worldview that spent an afternoon connecting garfield to jesus while pissing in a jug for some reason. Point instead of a character just being a smug dick, it ties into actual character flaws that helped us not only learn more about them but lead to a really heartwarming scene where the two admit they jsut can’t sleep together casually with allt heir baggage, and that they still have a lot to sort out. Before given the show their on having their friends show up from the a plot and all of them getting kidnapped by a robot because Josh skipped a bunch of ads and a 5 year old has to solve some issues and prove she’s not dumb to blow up said robot. What i’m saying is it’s even more insufferable watching this after seeing it done a thousand times better, and fucking watch Close Enough. Thankfully unlike Inifnity Train it’s not reliant on you to get a second season as it’s been renewed proving that even in a cluster fuck like 2020 miracles can happen, but it’d still be nice for it to get more fans during the presumably long wait for Season 2. Let’s move past this, i’ll get to the plot relevant bit for the climax when we get to the climax, and onto the reason your all here.

The Main Event: A Life Not Wasted

Okay onto the actual plot. Rewinding quite a bit, the boys meet our boys, and we get some good bits. The boys cool new handshake leaves Huey wanting one only for Louie to simply lick his hand. See this is Louie dickery I can get behind because what did Huey expect? I do take comfort in the fact he has actual friends now who will likely do a handshake, fenton very much included. I’m sure Gyro didn’t want one either so he’s had plenty of time to workshop. We also find out one of the boys was dropped as an egg and well.. given Dewey opens and closes his eyes one at a time for this one moment, the ohter triplets just sorta.. silently agre it’s Dewey. IT does explain why he thought Champ Popular would get over..that and Santa Claus is Going to Highschool being his favorite movie.

So both Jose and Panchito claim to be sucessful: Jose being a sucessful jetsetter and trendsetter, and Panchito being a world famous pop star, never stop stopping. So Donald being donald panics and runs into a alley where Scrooge and Huey join him. Donald is fully convinced he’s wasted his life and has nothing to show for it. Huey rightfully points out he raised three wonderful children and isn’t that enough? Naturally given Donald clearly has some issues related to this subject and Scrooge has develoved into old man yells at cloud, he agrees it’s not important as money. So Huey decides to help his uncle because he’s the good son.. and because the two are easily the most alike out of Donald and his Kids. It’s something I haven’t really been able to bring up before so I was delighted to realize i could now: Besides the obvious people bring up constnatly, I.e. Huey having inhereted the most of the family rage out of his brothers, there’s the fact both are kind of obessive, both tend ot spiral into panic when a situation goes wrong, both are awkward with women, both are frequently ignored or taken for granted by those around them, and both are awkward adorable dorks who I will give my life to protect. It’s why I think Huey has the best relationship with his uncle of the bunch: He’s the only one who at least TRIES to empahtize with him and support him. While the other two do love him, and Webby of course likely has an insanne and horrifying shrine of him, and scrooge and probably della now in her closet.. and of course lena but that’s less out of hero worship and more out of her insane, over the top, very webby version of love. Point is, he’s the one who genuinely sees his uncle as a person who needs help and love. This was best demonstrated in the scene at the bank back in “Who Is Gizmoduck” as Huey tries to get his uncle a loan using the guidebook and is there soley to help the guy and taking time out of his day to visit the bank. Let’s face it though this is huey: he probably loves visiting the bank. They just got new pens! So Huey decides to put his improv badge to good use... so far the only use he’s gotten is Louie laughing at the fact he actually earned an improv badge and urges donald to simply ACT like he’s sucessful. Scrooge balks at this, because as Wonder Woman 1984 taught us nothing good comes from lies.. or from banging your ghost boyfriend while he’s possessing someone’s body without said body’s consent and plan to fully live out the rest of your lives togehter without ever considering how fucked up this is. I will..deal with that movie ... soon. But he soon changes his turn and agrees to go along with it to avoid Jose getting upset and them having to pay for everything.

So Huey suggest Donald keep the lie small, but belivable. Given the law of sitcoms when it comes to anyone saying that and the fact this is Donald, he instead panics and lies that he’s taken over McDuck industries and scrooge has gone full abe simpson in the other direction.

Which is why i’m not enitrely annoyed by Scrooge’s presence: while they don’t even handwave him being here, Scrooge putting on an old man act, and sometimes getting back at donald for it is solid gold the whole damn time and some of David Tennat’s best comedic acting on the show, so it makes up for him being a grumpus. And while i’m not usually not a fan of liar revealed plots, this one works for me.. mostly because it’s rooted in character. Here Donald is lying.. but because of deep seated neurosis he’s yet to fully tackle. While he loves his boys and is proud of htem every day... it’s very clear Donald hates his life and how it turned out. We got bits of this back in House of the Lucky Gander, with Donald’s first thought upon thinking he’s about to die is “I wasted my life” and feeling entirely like a looser. This episode brillinatly builds on that: it shows a Donald who simply feels.. he acomplished nothing. It’s easy to see why as his parents were happy and sucessful at whatever they did from the looks of it and how well taken care of the kids were, his uncle is the richest duck in the world and it’s greatest hero and explorer, his sister is the only one who could rival that record, and his cousin constnatly gets riches and fame handed to him. Donald.. by comparison.. is just a normal guy whose house is in his rich uncle’s pool, who has no job, no partner, and only really the love of his family. He spent his life on adventures he didn’t want to have living int he shadow of someone he grew to resent before the Spear of Selene incident blew things up for a decade. And then when he was free instead of becoming a big sucess... he blew the rest of it being overprotective of his boys and bouncing from dead end job to dead end job. It’s easy to see why he sees himself as a failure despite having lived a good life: compared to everyone else, even his sister who mooned herself, in his life.. he feelsd far behind. And as someone whose felt they were far behind countless times and only now is realizing they haven’t and it’s a marathoon ot a sprint I naturally relate. So his wanting to play big shot for just ONE day, to be the big hero like scrooge, teo be a sucess for five minutes with his best friends.. it’s understandable and relatable.

So Donald continues the ruse, leading to a great bit where the cabs all try to avoid picking up the check “WE can’t all keep whistling nonchalantly” before Scrooge is forced to give Donald the money to in the best joke of the episode.. and I mean FORCED. He and donald get into a fight with their hands under the table and Huey eventually gets fed up with that and has to BITE his uncle’s hand just to get him to do what he shoudl’ve done ruse or no given he’s the richest person there. The reason I take special offense to this.. is that my fairly wealthy grandpa and grandma, my mom’s dad and his wife for the record, would buy us dinner EVERY TIME they were near town, a nice steak dinner with whatever we wanted to most of the time. They knew we couldn’t afford such luxury half the time and wanted to treat us and spend time with us. Since my grandpa’s passing, my Grandma and her New Husband have continued the tradition since then, if obviously not this year for damn obvious reasons, thought hey sent us a really nice dinner to cook for christmas in the same spirit. What i’m saying is when you know your relatives arne’t as stacked as you , you pay for the fucking meal especially since i’ts a special occasion, and even for someone as stingy as scrooge, it comes off as a dick move.

We then get the best scene with the episode, just inching out the climax as the three simply talk, remince on old times, have a good rib like old friends would. It feels natural and wonderful to watch and gets even better when the three hear the radio and end up having an impromptu dance and musical number. Also Jose’s umbrella is also a flute somehow.

Point is the boys have a good time and Donald gets carried away, with the boys planning a world tour. Huey, while happy to endulge his uncle in a badly needded ego boost, isn’t happy to endulge this and scrooge is unwilling ot pay, more resonably this time. Huey eventually talks him out of being a moron and tells him he has to tell the honest truth and while that dosen’t work this does.

So as Donald goes to face the music, we have come to our climax. Phrasing.

The Finale: Ay Carumba

So we come to our finale. Backing up a scene or too to the B-Plot, webby is interviewing a local about the festival when she gets stuck in a loop. So far in the episode we’ve had hints something is up with the people as they go all yellow eyed.. and webby finds out why as she notices the “person” she was interviewing is, in a hilarious and disturbing review.. a horrignly realistic hand puppet.. and upon stealing Louie’s phone, she points out there’s no shots of anyone’s feet.. and the reason why is that the giant flower the feast is about is a mean green mother from outer space and he’s bad. And Webby finding that out’s got him fighting mad. Webby and the boys naturally run to warn the remaning boy and scrooge and they all run out only to get blocked out of town and captured. Dewey looses his phone inside the plant monster.

In a great joke, Scrooge ended up actually throwing his back out with the old man act, so our heroes are all captured and it’s up to our stars to save the day. So while his family is in peril, Donald finally comes clean with Jose and Panchito naturally being upset.. for a second before Jose admits he lied to and an irate panchito.. is forced to admit he also lied. Jose is a flight attendant, hopefully he’ll get his own mini series where he accidently murders a dude on disney plus, which is a nice update of his globe trotting ways, as it’s a resonable way for someone with no money to get around the world these days and Panchito is a birthday party muscian. They all however chuckle over this realizing they haven’t come as far as they thought.. and they still have each other. It’s a nice way of modernizing Rosa’s jobs for them and their hard luck lives he set up and I love this. IJt’s just a sweet emotoinal scene that makes donald, and his friends, realize they aren’t faliures and life isn’t just about reaching some arbitrarity goal.. just like Soul taught me aka the actually great movie I watched on Christmas Day. But since Donald’s family is in peril Jose suggests theys till play the gig.. just like they did ion acapulco thus we get the second best scene of the episode and another worthy rendition of The Three Caballeros as our heroes beat the shit out of the plant, free the kids and the plant straighens out scrooges back.

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It’s beautiful, psycadelic, and utterly awesome. Seroiusly the bright boldend colors are awesome and so’s this sequence. Easily one of the show’s best.. and it’s a show that contiains the greatest scene in television history

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So that masterclass concludes with Donald signing.. badly.. and blowing the plant hte fuck up. Our heroes win and head off in the sunchaser. No idea what Launchpad is up to, probably has another ex in the area. Point is our heroes win, Dewey deletes his photos because “If there was no pics it didn’t happen” (So wise) and Donald decides to get the band back together, prompting scrooge to do an animal house on Panchito’s guitar... you.. you know you have to pay for that right? you aren’t a loveable frat man and he wasn’t ‘singing and I gave my love a cherry. Your obligated to get him a new guitar. You know that right?

So with that the episode wraps. This is a pretty good episode. While the subplot is bad and it should feel bad the main plot is emotional, well done and really adds more depth to Donald’s character while giving us a hell of a show with the cabs. The College Band background gives the boys a unique flavor this time around, not musically but in how they know each other and helps set it apart from the countless other reunions. It’s a truly bright, colorful and fun episode with some great gags and great performances. As I said Puerto and Paulo really knock it out of the park as the boys and while I would’ve preferred Jamie Camil, Paulo was still utterly excellent, though Puerto was the clear standout of the two. While their second apparence would be disapointing characterization wise, overall this was a fun introduction to two of disney’s best into it’s best universe and one of Season 2′s Standouts.

Next Time on the Ride of the Three Cablleros: we begin our massive finale look at The Legend of the Three Cablleros. Donald gets dumped by a nightmare of a person and finds an inhertance, new friends, and some sort of hot adventure god in his new cabana. Good times. Until then goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.

#ducktales #donald duck #panchito romero miguel junipero francisco quintero gonzalez #panchito pistoles #Jose Carioca #webby vanderquack #scrooge mcduck #dewey duck #huey duck #louie duck #Abe Simpson #the town where everyone was nice #The Three Caballeros

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reverseblackholeofwords · 5 years

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The last two times we were cordially invited to somethings, dark was made and the LAST time, phantom made a time loop of being the house

The room is tense. Every Ego is gathered beneath the manor’s roof, and the long table that stretches half the length of the ballroom is packed. There are two heads at the table, and one is currently standing.

“Celine, I appreciate the adorable chummy feelings that I get from us all gathered here together, I suppose.” Wilford gives an awkward glance in Anti’s direction, and the glitch gives a mocking wave with his knife. “But I think we would all appreciate a little explanation here.”

Celine knits her fingers together at the other end of the table. Dressed in her own fitted suit now with her short red hair blazing, she cuts quite the contrasting figure to all the men gathered around. “I’ve called you all here today because of them.” She gestures at Legion to her right, and all the Egos erupt into murmurs.

“And because we face a threat far greater than any villain we’ve come against before. We’re fighting a hero now, boys. One that believes that this world is fighting in his favor, and he isn’t wrong. We’re on the losing side, and we have been since the beginning.” Celine stands. “But if my brother taught me anything, it’s that no one can face the world alone.” She rolls her neck and folds her hands behind her back. “That is why I’m proposing a plan, something a little outside all our comfort zones.”

She takes a deep breath. “I’m calling it Ego Incorporated. It’s a… working title.”

Dr. Iplier raises his hand. “Wait, you want us to start a business?”

“A partnership.” Celine stretches out her hands to encompass the table. “Amongst all of us.”

Now the murmurs turn to shouts, cries of indignation and disagreement. Phantom stands and points his cane towards Celine. “And who says you get to call the shots? You’re nothing more than a spoiled child who learned a few magic tricks and got herself killed because of it.”

There’s the sound of a gun cocking, and Phantom doesn’t have to turn to know it’s Wilford pointing a gun at him. Mare’s fear smoke begins to rise, and Sharper and Mad both pull explosives from their pockets. But Phantom raises his hands. “I don’t want to start a fight, but it just seems to me that you’re taking a lot of power for yourself, for someone who has only been here a few months as opposed to the rest of us.”

Celine nods towards Wilford who lowers his gun while muttering to himself. “I realize that not many of you look at me and see someone who deserves authority.” She blinks, and her eyes turn black as pitch. The ceiling above them shakes and starts to crumble in flecks of debris around their heads, and the Egos all panic before things suddenly turn back to normal. “But considering you’re under my roof,” Celine’s voice drips with malice, “you might as well hear me out.”

Phantom’s smile is bordering on a grimace as he takes his seat. “Point taken.”

“Now that we have that out of the way, back to the issue at hand.” Celine turns back to Legion. “Our greatest ally is currently compromised. They are unable to influence the story without doing damage, and I’m positive our ‘hero’ has made it this way in order to regain control of his precious narrative. That being said, we have to react.” She begins to pace the length of the table.

“But rather than make an offensive play, I propose that our move instead be defensive.” She turns to Google. “Tell me, when Antisepticeye took your brother and used him as an example, what did you learn?”

Google’s face contorts for a moment before he clears his throat and answers systemically, “We learned that Anti had found a flaw in our security system and was exploiting it to show us how we could better protect ourselves in the future.”

“Exactly.” Celine turns back to the rest of the table. “They left a weak link in their chain, and the Googles themselves, androids designed to be impervious to all attacks, were compromised. We cannot leave any weak links, and that is why we need this partnership, why we need to regroup and protect our own.” Celine rounds the whole table and finds herself back at her end. “Gentlemen, this will only work if we all agree. I will personally see to it that a suitable building is procured and prepared. All you have to do is agree to live under the same roof without killing each other. Now will that be so hard to manage?”

Silence, and then a sudden burst of arguments. Celine slumps into her chair and watches the chaos unfold as Egos try to yell over one another to be heard until five shots are fired into the air, and everyone turns to look at Wilford.

“Listen to me, I know I’m not the most reliable source mentally speaking. I don’t pretend to be some great leader of men. Maybe that was who I was in a past life, but that is long since behind me.” He sets his gun down on the table. “But I think I know better than anyone here what Mark can do to someone.” He smiles. “I lost my friends! My home… my-my mind.” He pauses for a moment and begins to laugh.

“Now what Celine said is true. Mark will come, and he will try to exploit our weaknesses. He will fight as the hero, and the story will be on his side because it’s his.” Wilford glances around. “So we… we have to band together! Put aside our differences and just-just learn to have a little fun together, eh?” He looks around at each of them, and then his eyes rest on you. “Alone we’ll never beat him, but together, I think we stand a fighting chance. Don’t you? L-let’s put it to a vote, yes? All those in favor, raise your right hand!”

Wilford raises his hand slowly, and for a moment, no one else moves. Then suddenly Google raises his hand while his brothers follow suit. Then Chase, then Jackie, and the other Septics. Even Anti. Doc, Eric, and Host, and eventually Bim and the Jims. Then all eyes are on the Battles and Mad. They all look to Phantom.

He raises a finger towards Celine. “I get to keep my bar.”

She smirks. “Agreed.”

Phantom takes a deep breath and then sighs, raising his hand. “Then I’m in.”

Celine stands and grips her hands so tightly together she thinks the bones in her fingers might snap. “Then we have reached a decision. Construction on Ego Inc. will begin immediately.”

Then the doors to the ballroom burst in, and four figures saunter into the room. Ed Edgar, Derek Derekson, Silver Shephard, and Google Black. Ed smiles and spreads his arms out wide. “Oh, I think you forgot about somebody! Don’t we get a vote, little missy?”

#the seer celine #wilford warfstache #phantom #dr. iplier #ed edgar #googleplier #antisepticeye #actor mark #the legion #ask the egos #the monomyth

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sinceileftyoublog · 4 years

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Weekend Picks: 2/21-2/23

Big Head Todd and the Monsters

BY JORDAN MAINZER

There were no live picks for yesterday, but plenty for the weekend!

2/21: Objekt, Smartbar

Here’s what we wrote about Objekt’s Cocoon Crush when we named it our #6 album of 2018:

“An artist solidly known for his bold exploration of techno, Objekt now takes a plunge into a new kind of ethereal beauty on Cocoon Crush. A foray into ambient music, Objekt subverts a lot of what we have come to expect from him. The line between digital and analog is smeared. Tracks are ungrounded, punctuated still by percussion and synthesizers, but in patterns and textures that materialize in mysterious ways. And just as they appear, they stutter and morph in ways unexpected to the listener. The cold machinations of the dancefloor are still present; they are just stretched and masked in exciting and rewarding ways.”

Darwin and Flower Flood open.

2/21: Knuckle Puck, Beat Kitchen

We previewed Knuckle Puck’s set at Durty Nellie’s two years ago:

“Covering last year’s Riot Fest, I found Knuckle Puck the worst set of the festival, though I did remark that the band’s new, unreleased material had the crowd’s attention as much as their released material. As it turns out, the album versions of the songs are pretty good. Shapeshifter, released about a month later in October, was exemplary of what Knuckle Puck do best–write catchy songs with powerful melodies and hooks, enough to showcase the band’s more-than-capable instrumental prowess while avoiding the try-hard singing that plagues so many of today’s emo bands.”

Cleveland power poppers Heart Attack Man and Wilkes Barre hardcore band One Step Closer open.

Objekt; Photo by Kasia Zacharko

2/21: James McMurtry, Old Town School of Folk Music

We previewed James McMurtry’s show at FitzGerald’s two years ago:

“James McMurtry plays tonight as part of the 37th Annual American Music Festival at Fitzgerald’s, still touring strong off of Complicated Game (one of our favorite albums of 2015) like he was when it first came out. When we caught up with him last November, he said of new songs, 'I��ve jotted them down on my phone as I’ve gone along. That whole record was written on an iPhone3. Unfortunately, I dropped that phone, I don’t have the cool Notes app anymore.' Well, either he’s got a new phone or doesn’t need one, because late last year, he released 'State of the Union', a trademark jab at fascism and racism. It might not be as succinct as him telling us 'There never been a good Nazi a day on this earth dead or alive,' but at least there’s hope for more new material.”

2/21: Raphael Saadiq & Jamila Woods, Vic Theatre

Last year, Raphael Saadiq released his first album in 8 years (since the great Stone Rollin’). Jimmy Lee is named after, inspired by, and partially about his brother who died of heroin overdose after contracting HIV many years ago. As such, whether singing or inhabiting the character of his brother, Saadiq is at times uncharacteristically somber. He’s at the other end of a barrel of a gun on “Sinners Prayer”, reflecting on his wrongs, wondering whether it’s too late: “When a sinner is praying, God, will you hear it?” He wears a heavy burden on the funky, stomping “Something Keeps Calling Me”, the song’s wailing guitar solo in the bridge a mirror to his emotions. Saadiq calls out society, too, just as much as himself. “The people are mad,” he sings on “This World is Drunk”. The one-two punch of anti-mass incarceration jams “Rikers Island” and “Rikers Island Redux” presents the issue as simply as it should be put: “Too many n***as in Rikers Island / Why must it be / Set them free.” The former expresses its anger with upbeat piano and a simple refrain, the latter with spoken word over gentle guitar strums.

Best, though, are the reflections of grace that rise above the despair. On “I’m Feeling Love”, over a slower, more warbling funk, Saadiq, singing as his brother, is thankful for the little that he has. And on the skittering, rolling “Glory To The Veins”, he again distills his brother’s death to what matters: “I lost a brother to AIDS / Still, he laughed every day.” We’re lucky that as he gets older, reflecting on his life, and playing live reflecting on his career in Tony! Toni! Toné! and all the legendary artists like D’Angelo and Solange that he’s produced, Saadiq is willing to impart his wisdom.

Jamila Woods’ LEGACY! LEGACY! was one of our favorite albums of last year:

“Yes, Jamila Woods’ stunning LEGACY! LEGACY! is a tribute to important artists of color. What makes it stand out among other tributes, however, is the remarkable way Woods is able to present how each figure has guided her. Take opener 'BETTY', about funk artist Betty Davis, a woman married to a far more famous jazz trumpeter who gets his own song later on. Woods explores the gender and power dynamic in the relationship and uses it to make a personal and universal plea: 'Let me be, I’m trying to fly.' Fly, she does. On 'ZORA', over a hip hop beat, Woods succinctly declares in an all-time line, 'My weaponry is my energy', the drive and desire the catalyst in the noble goal to make her mark on the world as a black woman as opposed to while being a black woman. In various interviews surrounding the album release, Woods spoke about being inspired by black artists who perform and make art truly for themselves independent and often in spite of the race of the end consumers. 'Motherfuckers won’t shut up,' beings 'MUDDY', referencing Muddy Waters adoption of electric guitar because white audiences would talk over his sets; 'Shut up, motherfucker,' she sings inversely on 'MILES', 'I don’t take requests.' But the percussive, jazzy 'EARTHA' best encapsulates her aims of self-love and ultimate pride. 'I used to be afraid of myself,' Woods admits before stating, 'I don’t wanna compromise.' Ultimately, the refrain of, 'Who’s gonna share my love for me with me?' is the mindset by which Woods approaches relationships throughout the record and then life itself. You can be a part of it, but she comes first.”

DJ Duggz also opens.

2/21: The Wailers, SPACE

We previewed The Wailers’ set at Old Town School of Folk Music last year:

“Bob Marley might not be around, but his original band, containing many of the original members and their children, continues to play his songs. Seeing them in a venue as small as this is rare.”

Tonight at SPACE--an even smaller venue--they play two shows, an early and late one.

Joe Henry

2/22: Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Vic Theatre

We previewed Big Head Todd & The Monsters’ show at the Vic Theatre two years ago:

“The Colorado jam band that saw mainstream success in the 90′s is touring fresh off of last year’s heavy New World Arisin’. In 2016, as Big Head Blues Club (the band’s project with a wide array of blues legends like Cedric Burnside and Charlie Musselwhite), they released Way Down Inside. But for the full potential of Big Head Todd and the Monsters, go a few years back and try 2014′s Black Beehive, a rawer, more diverse blues record than you’d expect from the band who recorded 'Bittersweet'. What’s for sure is that live, they’ll lean heavily on the new material while not forgoing their more beloved classics.”

They haven’t released a new album since then but have released a new song every month as part of a series. They should play some of these live, including gospel piano ballad “Hard Times Come No More” and the funky, rollicking “Train of Storms”.

Nashville band Los Colognes open.

2/22: Todd Barry, Thalia Hall

We previewed Todd Barry’s sets at SPACE two years ago:

“So, this isn’t exactly music, but deadpan comedian Todd Barry is performing 2 stand-up sets in one night at SPACE. Commemorating his 30 years of being a comedian, he’s going on another crowd work-only tour like the one documented in his 2014 special Todd Barry: The Crowd Work Tour. From watching that and his most recent Netflix special Spicy Honey, Barry’s dry observational humor is effortlessly tailored to specific crowds and cities, making this one of the must-see comedy events of the year.”

Even if tonight isn’t crowd work-only, he should do some of his specialty.

Chicago-based stand-up comic Chelsea Hood opens.

Hot Snakes

2/22: Joe Henry, Old Town School of Folk Music

Since we last saw Joe Henry five years ago, he’s done quite a bit of production work and released two albums, 2017′s Thrum, and last year’s The Gospel According to Water. In between the two, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer; considering that, the latter takes on weight. It’s, first and foremost, raw, from the guitar playing on “Famine Walk” to the title track. But Gospel sports moments of beauty, too, as on the woodwind of “Mule” and rich vocal harmonies of “In Time For Tomorrow” and “The Fact of Love”.

Americana duo Birds of Chicago open.

Pissed Jeans; Photo by Ebru Yildiz

2/22: Tim and Eric, Chicago Theatre

Who knows what Tim and Eric will bring to their Chicago stop of their Mandatory Attendance tour, other than their purported "brand new spoofs, goofs and insanity” and “special surprises.” The last time I saw them, Dr. Steve Brule showed up and almost married Jan Skylar!

2/22: Hot Snakes, Pissed Jeans, & HIDE, Empty Bottle

Music Frozen Dancing is upon us again, with suggested donations benefiting the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless! Go and donate!

We last listened to Hot Snakes from the medical tent at September’s Riot Fest. Since then, they’ve released the first two of four seasonal 7-inch singles leading up to the next LP: the burner “Checkmate” and wonderfully plodding laziness anthem “I Shall Be Free”. (The latter’s 7-inch has “A Place in the Sun” as an exclusive.)

Hot Snakes also play Sunday night at the Bottle with an opening set from post punk band Pink Avalanche.

Allentown hardcore band Pissed Jeans haven’t released anything since 2017′s Why Love Now, but they’re thankfully back to warm your pants before Hot Snakes. Maybe they’ll have some new songs to play?

Local industrial duo HIDE (artist Heather Gabel and percussionist Seth Sher) released their second album last year, the raw, disgusting Hell is Here. The drum programming and screaming is just as cringingly visceral as the recorded sounds of vomit hitting a toilet that end opening track “Chainsaw”.

Synth band Crash Course in Science, arty The Hecks, and local punk band Hitter also open.

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dustedmagazine · 4 years

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Gnaw — Barking Orders (Sleeping Giant Glossolalia)

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Depending on how you’re wired, you hear in Alan Dubin’s voice an underappreciated musical event — or you find it completely unendurable. He’s been doing his thing for quite some time, since the Old Lady Drivers’ self-titled LP in 1988, and then more notoriously on Khanate’s remarkable output in the early Aughts. If you haven’t yet given yourself an opportunity to get situated on one side or the other of the divide, Dubin has presented you with a new EP, Barking Orders, recorded with his equally talented bandmates in Gnaw. You may not be bewitched by the fury, screech and thunder he can summon with his instrument, and if so, even 26 minutes will seem far too much, interminable and tortuous. For others (like this reviewer), an EP simply isn’t enough.

Barking Orders commences with a cover of Einstürzende Neubauten’s “Kollaps,” the title track of the German band’s second record, and a classic of industrial skree and clangor. Gnaw captures the original recording’s spirit of degraded, desiccated majesty, but the cover amps up the pulse and pace. Eric Neuser’s drumming has a thick, heavy bottom end, and band’s rendition of the riff (provided by some excellent players, including Carter Thornton, Dana Schechter and Brian Beatrice) is less an attenuated buzz and more a matter of nasty stabs and sparks. In spite of the increased speed with which Gnaw pursues the song’s intensities, the cover version stretches out a bit longer than the original. And that gives Dubin more time to work out on the lyrics’ rhythms and themes.

What’s always been impressive about Dubin’s voice is his ability to channel its extremities. To be sure, those extremities are often simply unleashed, as unearthly, withering shrieks and howls. But when the lyrics count, he somehow renders them with complete clarity, all while never compromising the unhinged edge of his performance. It’s a good trick, put to excellent use on the cover of “Kollaps.” Einstürzende Neubauten were already fomenting any number of “strategies against architecture” in 1981, and Gnaw’s record is equally fixated on the brutality of contemporary urban experience. Dubin screams, “Collapse! / Our wandering destroys the cities!” The itinerant psychological violence of walking around L.A. or Brooklyn or Philadelphia, with their abject and swelling homeless populations, is registered with suitable anger and desperation.

The EP’s best track, “Rid the City,” elaborates on the themes of urban life and death. The band eases into the track with some evocatively creeping playing — it’s more a twisted noir soundtrack than a pummeling industrial soundscape. In the opening minutes, Neuser’s drumming relies on subtle cymbal strikes and tentative taps on the snare. Guitar and bass notes edge in from the song’s periphery and slowly build an anxiously dense environment, in collaboration with electronics manipulated by Jun Mizumachi and Beatrice. Dubin whispers and hisses in the song’s gutters and corners. Eventually, though, he builds to a shout: “It’s the Summer of Sam! / And the dog is talking!” That’s clarifying but unhappy information, which puts the EP’s title in stark context. In keeping with the horror of the reference, the song’s second half lurches into an array of aggressively ugly forms, which slowly fall to pieces. A number of distorted, weirding voices interpose, haunting the rhythm’s margins.

It’s a really effective performance. There is, of course, an unhappy tradition of metal and noise bands that have mindlessly (or cynically) celebrated serial killers and their horrific behaviors. That’s disgusting. Gnaw don’t romanticize David Berkowitz, his handgun or his various bullshit claims about demonic possession and Satanic cults. Rather, Barking Orders seems alarmed by how the most human of all creations, the city’s built space, has become so inhospitable to and unendurable for so many, many humans. It’s a question worth asking. Gnaw don’t provide answers, but their songs pitch the problem at the right levels of savagery and misery.

Jonathan Shaw

#gnaw #barking orders #sleeping giant glossolalia #jonathan shaw #albumreview #dusted magazine #alan dubin #old lady drivers #khanate #Einstürzende Neubauten #noise #extremity

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confessionsofawannaberockst-blog · 5 years

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Why I Changed My Name

I’m so excited to yell from the top of my f%#king lungs that after a VERY long time of humming and hawing, I’ve decided to leap into the uncertainty of vulnerability and change my name from ‘Dirty Mountain’ to ‘Elli Hart & The Dirty Mountain’.

I AM ELLI! HEAR ME ROAR!

Two and a half years ago, I decided to show the outside-looking-in that I was a band instead of an artist because I was terrified that if I showed up as ‘Elli Hart’, no one would be interested in what I had to say, a.k.a. listen to my songs.

I’ve spent this last year seriously grappling back and forth between giving up my dreams of rock stardom, or pulling up my sleeves and digging in with all the tenacity and drive I could muster. I was tempted with a “great” job that had a steady paycheck, benefits, and was affiliated with music, only to realize that I was incredibly stressed out and not at all happy.

I let myself get discouraged and intimidated which isn’t like me at all.

In February, everything changed.

I was forced to take the month off and it was a blessing in disguise. I FINALLY feel like myself again. I left that “great job” and I’ve been incredibly inspired and am picking up right where I left off.

Nothing makes me happier in this world than standing on stage and ripping it on my guitar and singing my lyrics to an audience of badass humans.

That’s you guys! Seriously - thank you so much for all the support you’ve given me over the past few years.

When I look back, I’m really proud of what I’ve accomplished. I’ve played some seriously cool stages, from intimate festivals like @tinylights to massive mainstages like Sunfest Country Music Festival. I’ve opened for Arkells in front of 50,000 people on Canada’s 150th birthday, (I actually burst into tears the moment I got off stage ‘cause holy intense!), as well as warmed up the mainstages at festivals opening for Eric Church and Little Big Town.

In the winter of 2017, I bought and converted an old Astro van into a house-on-wheels and drove by myself down to Nashville for three months to learn how the pro’s write songs. After only a few weeks of arriving, I was featured on Nashville’s Lighting 100 radio station as their songwriter of the week, performed at the famous Bluebird Cafe, and was invited to perform a song at The Listening Room.

It’s been an amazing journey so far. And while I may have called myself Dirty Mountain on paper, I’ve been me the whole way through. It’s time to embrace who I am and step forward as Elli Hart. But don’t worry, “Dirty Mountain” ain’t gettin’ the boot. When I perform with my band, I’ll be billed as ‘Elli Hart & The Dirty Mountain”. When I perform solo, just “Elli Hart”.

Seems like a great compromise to me.

Until next time,

Elli

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thecollectorsector · 6 years

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Did you know...

That Danzig’s classic logo:

Was originally designed and created for a Marvel comic book cover?

Crystar

Today, not many comic book fans remember the Marvel character Crystar. This relatively obscure 80s character was originally created and developed for a line of toys. Crystar was a crystalline warrior who came from the world known as Crystallium-where everything was made of crystal and most characters had bad, rock-themed pun names like Ogeode, Feldspar or Stalax. Marvel Comics later created a Crystar comic book to accompany and promote Remco’s Crystar toyline. This is one of Michael Golden’s many classic comic book covers and is probably recognizable to any die-hard Danzig fan. I doubt Michael Golden imagined when he first created this cover, that someday one aspect of this image would be the identifying symbol of a major band. I’ve always wondered if Michael Golden receives any kind of compensation or recognition for creating the original comic cover that formed the basis of that now famous and highly-merchandised Danzig logo.

Marvel partnered with the now-defunct toy company Remco to produce a comic book series to expand the Crystar line of action figures and playsets. This was a common practice in the 70s and 80s. Marvel had also found success with such toy/comic crossovers like the Shogun Warriors, Micronauts and ROM: Spaceknight line of toys. Since the storytelling abilities of the toy industry were so limited, many toy companies benefited by having a comic book expand upon the characters and universe of a limited toy line. Companies like Marvel benefitted by having a large captive audience of kids who were familiar with the toys but would never have bought a comic book otherwise. This would not be the last time Marvel would create a comic series to promote a line of toys. G.I. Joe, He-Man, Transformers and even the beloved Secret Wars line of toys were all popular toy lines that Marvel published comic books to accompanying and promote. He-Man actually had the rare distinction of being one of the only toy lines to have a promotional comic book published by both Marvel and D.C. Toy companies like Remco used to view comic books as an advertising mechanism to draw in new kids while also being a cheap, easy way to create new characters that could eventually become new toys.

The Punk Connection

I’ve always loved the Misfits and by extension Glenn Danzig. Back in my punk days, The Misfits were always my favorite band, usually tied with the Dead Kennedys and the Germs (but I also loved T.S.O.L, the Buzzcocks, The Adicts, Crass and Minor Threat). As a fan of classic horror, sci-fi, and monster movies, I always appreciated The Misfits’ and Danzig’s use of horror and sci-fi imagery in their lyrics and album art. That was actually one of the things that I loved about the Misfits above all other bands; the imagery. All that Vincent Price and Plan 9 imagery really appealed to a kid like me. When I was a punk, comic books were the last thing on my mind. I hadn’t read or collected comics in years by that point. So I never made the connection between Danzig and comic books, despite being aware of Crystar as a character. I remember owning several issues of the Crystar Marvel series as a kid. After all, I am a child of the late 80s and early 90s who grew up owning many toys from some of the most iconic toy lines of the 80s. I was initially surprised that Glenn Danzig would show an interest in comics and co-opt the cover of a Marvel comic book series that targeted kids and was designed to promote a corresponding toy line. That fact is even more surprising looking at some of his later, solo-era imagery and lyrics.

Looking at that kind of album art, I don’t know why anyone would be surprised Danzig digs comics. As it turns out, Glenn Danzig has been into comics for years. This is why he used so much of that sci-fi/horror imagery in his early days in the Misfits and borrowed themes and concepts from comic books like Crystar and Conan. The misfits often used a comic book/Lichtenstein-esque pop-art art style as evidenced in their Bullet imagery with JFK and their Horror Business album art. Danzig also chose an HR Giger painting as one of his later albums. When you compare Frazetta-era “barbarian/warrior” artwork with Danzig’s comics or album art, you can see the obvious inspiration. In the 90s, Danzig actually began publishing his own line of comic books, Verotik comics (Verotik was a portmanteau of the words “violent” and “erotic”). It would be easy to looks at some of the comic books he’s published and dismiss them as immature or sophomoric. After all, they do feature most of the things pubescent boys are into-big pecs, bigger boobs and the biggest swords. It would also be easy to view Danzig’s foray into the medium of comics as a cash grab. This was the era that outsiders and speculators were coming into the comic book field en masse. Many people who had zero interest in producing quality comics came into the field with delusions of making a fortune based on the newfound popularity of comic books.

The Bubble Goes Burst

When the comic book speculator bubble burst in the mid-to-late-90s, many of these new imprints and comic lines went under; never to return to publication. Verotik has managed to outlive Homage, Wildstorm, Continuity, Legend, Malibu, Chaos!, Caliber, Comico, Defiant, Kitchen Sink Press and Eclipse (to name a few). It’s important to remember that those were among the most acclaimed indie comic companies during the 90s comic boom. All of those companies were either bought, closed or are otherwise now defunct. While it is true Verotik published way fewer comics than most of those other companies, Verotik still publishes comics today. Glenn Danzig outlasted them all. Surprisingly, Danzig’s line of Verotik comics have been continuously published since 1994, with Glenn Danzig himself still involved. While other, more mainstream comics have been adapted into the Hollywood Blockbusters we all know, Danzig adapted one of his comics, Grub Girl, into a porno that came out in 2006. Say what you will about adapting a comic book into pornography... it shows that Danzig has found a way to maintain an almost entirely adult audience while simultaneously promoting his line of comics and spinning those characters off into another medium (film).

Mainstream comic readers have not spoken kindly about some of Verotik’s offerings. I certainly don’t like everything that Dark Horse, or Marvel, or Image publish. Many comic fans have dismissed Danzig’s line of comic books for their perceived “low quality.” However, if you go back and examine some of his earliest works, you’d be surprised by some of the names you’d recognize. Many well known, popular writers and artists of today had work published in one of Verotik’s comic books. Grant Morrison actually had a story published in the first issue of Verotika, something he never mentions. Simon Bisley contributed some really solid artwork on many Verotik comics, as did Frank Frazetta.

Some of the most iconic Frazetta artwork (beyond his legendary Conan art of course) appeared in Verotik comics. The “Death Dealer” image has come to typify the classic Frazetta “barbarian” style. The Frank Frazetta style of heavily painted Barbarian/Warrior art has almost completely disappeared from the today’s modern comics. In my opinion, Danzig and his line of Verotik comics are almost solely responsible for the preservation of that kind of 80’s barbarian/sword-and-sorcery/heavy metal comic book aesthetic. By the 90s, that genre of comic and it’s associated art style had fallen out of favor with the general public and was considered dated by many critics and fans alike. This kind of hyper-masculine Barbarian imagery existed only on the fringes of pop culture and is virtually nonexistent today. What had been an industry staple was now relegated to a tiny niche audience. Fantasy artwork like that is sorely absent from today’s comic book marketplace. Rafa Garres, Eric Canete, Liam Sharp, Arthur Suydam, Dave Stevens and Kent Williams all contributed artwork to at least one of Verotik’s many comic books. When you re-examine some of the covers to Verotik titles like Jaguar God, Valkyrie or Weird Voodoo, they still look pretty damn good even by modern standards. Painted covers like these have withstood the test of time; good writing and artwork often endures and stays relevant for years.

Legacy of Brutality (and Comic Books)

It‘s a shame that Danzig doesn’t get more recognition for his contribution to comic books from the modern comic book community. I’ve never heard anyone mention Danzig and comics in the same sentence. For a guy who’s written songs for Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison, owns his own label (Plan 9), had a long history with the Misfits, found renewed success with Samhain and again with his solo project Danzig...the guy has quite a resume. Even many punks don’t know that Samhain was essentially a punk supergroup, since their debut album featured former members of Minor Threat, Rosemary’s Babies and Reagan Youth. To switch gears entirely and begin writing and publishing comics shows how seriously he took his interest in comic books. He never compromised his artistic integrity and made exactly the kind of comics and music he wanted. Whether you personally like the results or not, you should respect that kind of commitment and discipline. It’s unfortunate for Danzig since many people in the punk/metal community would mock his comic book pursuits, and the comic industry often resents outsiders coming into the field from another medium, he rarely gets recognition from either community.

His contribution to music cannot be understated and his foray into comics cannot be dismissed as a mere cash grab or way to stay relevant. He put his money where his mouth was and was willing to invest his own money and time into his life-long love of comics. I honestly wish more people would do that. Danzig teamed with some of the best fantasy comic artists in the field at the time and wrote many of Verotik’s comics himself. He is also a graphic artist in his own right who is known to do sketches at signings and conventions. Danzig has created music for over 41 years and for 24 years he has also been involved in the production of comic books. That alone makes you a pretty cool guy in my book. His comics are about as “creator owned” as it gets and in that 24 years he has made the kinds of comics that he wants to make. You can’t dismiss that kind of artistic determination. For a guy who has always been known as the “Heavy Elvis” of punk music, his artistic portfolio is surprisingly diverse. Danzig should be accepted by the comic book community as being every bit as worthy of inclusion as any other, more accepted comic book creators.

Don’t sleep on @therealglenndanzig-blog, the dude might just surprise you.

-AG

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